A Change of Sorts
by cheeky doggie
Summary: What's this? Daisuke's leaving Azumano for a whole year? Alone? Why is he doing this and where is he moving to? Well read and find out! DN AngelXFB. First crossover fic, enjoy!
1. BIG Surprise

**A Change of Sorts**

**Whoopee! I start my first crossover fanfic on Chinese New Year's! Good luck to everyone for the New Year! And it's the year of the dog…which means I was born 12 years ago because _I'm _a dog too! **

**This is my first shot at a crossover fic so sorry if it's not very good. But I'll try my best and uh…just so you know, I don't write rough drafts. The ones that I _did _ended up completely different when I typed it out. My ideas come when I'm on the computer, you see. So sorry if it doesn't make sense ok? And to the story!**

**Chapter 1: BIG Surprise**

"WHAT!" Daisuke shouted, staring disbelievingly at his mother_. 'Don't worry, it's just a joke. Yes that's right; it's all a cruel joke…' _He thought frantically. It couldn't be happening, it couldn't be happenni-

--Sorry Dai-chan! But it looks like it is! -- teased an annoying voice in his head.

Daisuke gritted his teeth and imagined glaring daggers at that irritating Thief in his head. Oh boy, if looks could kill…Dark would be alive and prancing around happily in flower-filled meadows because Daisuke was _not _good at glaring daggers. He was more of…the type that made you just want to use his head as an armrest.

"But okaa-san! Why do I have to go alone?" he whinged, desperate to stop this horrible train of supreme evilness that was currently hurtling 521853kph along the Dark Rails of Doom…and was driven by a maniacally laughing Dark waving a bomb switch in his hand. NO, he couldn't go, he couldn't go…

Emiko winked and held up a purse in her hand. "But Dai-chan, you're not going alone! You have Dark with you!" she shoved the purse in her son's protesting hand and pushed him out the door, all the time smiling cheerily. "Now be back before dark!"

Daisuke felt like crying. Why? _Why him? _Why did he have to do this? What did _he _ever do to deserve this? Why was his mum so evil? Sure, he had done this heaps of times before, even though he had left kicking and screaming, but never had he gone alone before. And Dark wasn't the best of comfort either…

Seeing as he had no choice anyway, he sniffled cutely a couple of times and headed down the road. Everything he passed seemed to be mocking him. The grinning cat, flowers biting him on the leg, dogs rolling around on the ground with what he assumed was laughter…heck, even the tree he loved to climb seemed to be waving a pair of scissors in his direction. He sighed. He _hated _going to the hairdressers.

(A/N: Ha! Got you there, didn't I!)

* * *

20 horrible minutes later which included an overly cheerful hairdresser, 7 warnings about not cutting his ears off, one strangely green ball of flying fuzz, a pair of rusty scissors and a freakishly cold draft on the lower neck, Daisuke dared to open his eyes and stare into the mirror.

Good. They hadn't started cutting yet. A sudden flame of thought lit up inside his head, nearly setting Dark on fire. Nobody was around…Quickly, he slapped a few notes on the counter and ran out of the shop. A fire alarm rang and a horde of madly snipping hairdressers charged out after him, trampling the shop down while they were at it, and lunged at him, insanely grabbing bits of his red hair to snip away at until he was completely bald, save a low fuzz of bright hair left on his scalp.

Well, that's what he hoped wouldn't happen. Little did he know, that the shop's workers had long since given up on trying that on him; he had protested loudly every time he was forced to come to their shop.

Daisuke looked around frantically; no signs of insane scissor-wielding women, no bald people wondering around aimlessly for having to come to the same fate as he expected to come to him. The redhead sighed in relief, and he headed home, whistling a cheery tune that told the world 'I-didn't-do-nothing-nope-I-did-not-just-run-away-from-a-hairdresser's-shop-you-can't-prove-nothing-oh-no-you-can't' yet plainly said 'Please-don't-kill-me-I-was-doing-it-for-the-sake-of-my-long-known-hairstyle!'

As he walked away, he didn't notice a little glowing green ball stare after him and shake his tiny fist angrily. "I'll get you one day, Daisuke Niwa." It said threateningly. "One day…" it backed off into the shadow of the door mysteriously…and was promptly slammed to a horrible death as someone opened the door to the shop rather…violently.

_**

* * *

Back at home…**_

"WHAT!" Daisuke shouted, staring disbelievingly at his mother_. 'Don't worry, it's just a joke. Yes that's right; it's all a cruel joke…' _He thought frantically. It couldn't be happening, it couldn't be happenni-

--Sorry Dai-chan! Looks like it is! -- teased an annoying voice in his head. Dark then frowned, as if trying to remember something. --Hmmmmm, déjà vu or something. This is all so familiar…--

"Okaa-san! What does this mean? Otou-san! Ji-chan?" he desperately asked each of the adults in turn, refusing to accept that this was reality.

"Sorry Daisuke." Whispered Kosuke to his only son. "But it's not illegal, no matter what you say. You _are _16 now. And your okaa-san and ji-chan believe that those ones are particularly dangerous."

"B-b-b-but does this mean I have to live on the streets!" Daisuke asked, frantically trying to stop the _truck _of evil ideas that was currently ramming itself into the side of his head.

"No, no! Of course not!" smiled Emiko. "There is an empty house that I rented for you for the whole year! Its close enough to the school and it's surrounded by many natural, open areas, which I know you'll _love_! Here's the directions from the bus station." She handed him a folded map, which he took hesitantly.

"And it provides you with all the essentials you'll need!" piped up Daiki, Emiko nodding her head in energetic agreement.

"You'll be spending your 10th year of school there, steal the art pieces that we want with gaps of 2 weeks, and remain there for the whole year so as not to arouse suspicion." Kosuke explained calmly, although he was deeply regretting agreeing with his wife.

"But why can't you come with me? I don't want to live alone for a whole year!" protested Daisuke, With 'kyuu'-ing in agreement on his head.

"Because we have to take care of some business here." Replied Daiki firmly. "With will be coming with you as your wings."

"But what will you tell my friends and teachers? What will I tell _my _teachers at my new school?" he asked, his resolve starting to break. He hated the idea…but it might be fun…

Emiko smiled happily. "We'll tell them that you decided to take up travelling, and will be back in a year. And I already told your new teachers that you wanted a change of pace, and decided to try living there. And at the end of the year, you'll tell everyone you know that you're homesick and decided to move back."

--She makes it seem so simple…-- whispered Dark. Even he decided that this was all an insane idea when the real meaning sank in. --What will Azumano do without their popular Phantom Thief Dark? What will the girls do without _me_? --

Daisuke agreed. This was an evil plot set up for him and Dark…

"But what if I'm suspicious there anyway? I mean, coming to that town right before Kaitou Dark appears there!"

"Don't worry!" Emiko winked. "When I enrolled you in the school, I acted like I was really teary and sad about your wanting to leave (--And she really isn't!--) and mentioned that watching Dark's appearances on TV wouldn't be the same without you. When the principal asked who Dark was, I told him, and broke down again. So they won't suspect a thing!" she finished, beaming proudly.

Daisuke sighed and gave up. It was no use no more. But to think that he would be leaving his hometown for one whole year…he felt like crying then and there.

"Now go begin packing! You're leaving in two days!"

"WHAT!"

**

* * *

Ahahahaha, the evilness of the whole situation. For those of you who don't understand, Daisuke is moving, _alone, _to another town for a whole year so that he and Dark can steal some artworks that Emiko and Daiki are interested in. Hope you enjoy my crazy plot; and the Furuba part will come in the next chapter! (Hopefully!)**

**BTW, in this story, Daisuke is 16 and all the Sohma's are the age that we know them to be in the manga and anime.**

**How will Riku react when she finds out Daisuke is leaving? How will the unknown town (well, you all know what it is; just that I don't know the name of it) react when they find out a Thief is in their midst? How will you react when you find out just how crazy I am when I get an idea? Well R&R and you will find out soon!**


	2. The Calls

**A Change of Sorts**

**Second chapter up and still going strong! Sorry that the first chapter was really short, but I didn't want to rush it all in the first one. So this one will be longer _and _with a little bit of the FB part in it. Ok, onto the story!**

**Chapter 2: The Calls**

_Ring ring._

Daisuke wanted to kill himself.

_Ring ring._

He'll take his mother along with him too.

_Ring r-click._

"_Hello?"_

Daisuke cleared his throat nervously.

"Hello? Uh, can I speak to Riku Harada-san please?"

"_Just one moment." _As the butler left the phone, the redhead sighed.

-Why do _I _have to be the one doing this?-

--Because you're the one with _me _in you.--

Daisuke sighed again. -Thanks _a lot_ Dark.-

Dark grinned lazily. --Anytime.--

"_Hello?"_

"Riku-san?"

"_Yes. Niwa-kun?"_

Daisuke began sweating big time about what he had to say to Riku.

"Yes that's me. I just, uh, wanted to tell you something."

"_Yes…?"_ Riku asked cautiously, afraid of what was to come.

"I'm…goingtobeleavingAzumanoforawholeyearI'mreallysorrybutIwanttodosometravellingbutdon'tworryI'llbebackbeforeyouknowit." He blurted, his nervousness welding his words into one whole sticky sentence.

"_Pardon?"_

Daisuke took a deep breath, and tried again. "I'm going to be leaving Azumano for a whole year be-" he was cut off by a loud scream.

"_Niwa-kun, you can't be serious! For a WHOLE year? Why? Why do you want to leave Azumano and me for a whole year?" _Riku was on the verge of crying now.

Daisuke tried his best to calm her down, but his reasons didn't really help. "I…I just want to do some bit of travelling, but I'll be back in a year. And I can give you my mobile number."

Riku broke down, but she accepted the mobile number part anyway. Her shaky hands wrote it down as she struggled to keep her dignity by not crying as much. Then…screw the dignity! She thought angrily. Niwa-kun's leaving for a whole year! (Insert sounds of crying here.)

"I'm…leaving in two days, Riku-san."

"_WHAT! Where are you going? Tell me and I'll come to send you off." _She replied, although she felt like pummelling him for doing this to her.

Daisuke told her and then hung up, sighing deeply.

-Okaa-san's so mean.-

--I agree. Your ji-chan is too, you know.--

-Yeah but okaa-san probably arranged it to be in two days.-

--Yeah…--

Daisuke looked at the next on his list while scratching his head.

-Uh-oh…Takeshi's next.-

--This is gonna be FUN.--

Daisuke gulped and rang the number anyway.

"_Hello?"_

"Hello? Takeshi? It's Daisuke."

"_YO Daisuke! What's up?"_

"Uh, I just needed to tell you something."

"_What?"_

"I'm leaving Azumano for a year…"

Silence. Explode! _"What! You're leaving for a whole year! Why?"_

"Travelling…" Daisuke replied, feeling guilty for lying to his best friend.

"_Good on you Daisuke! You're finally leaving the nest of childhood to become a real man!"_

Silence yet again. Another explosion.

"WHAT! Takeshi! What does that mean!"

"_Oh nothing nothing." _Takeshi answered, flapping his hand at the phone even though Daisuke couldn't see it. Little did he know that inside the redhead, Dark was laughing his little astral head off…

"_But why? Who am I supposed to copy my work off? Who is going to do all the project work in pairs with me while I lounge around? What do I do about homework!"_ Takeshi whined.

"…I feel sorry for the next person you're going to befriend, Takeshi."

"_Don't worry. I'll find someone. But, none of them will be the same as you because none of them will be willing to do SO much for his best friend!"_

Daisuke sighed. -I _wasn't _willing. He made me do it.-

--Yup! --

"Well, I better get going now Takeshi. Bye!"

"_Bye! Hey, by the way, what's your mobi-" _Click! The phone slammed down into its socket as soon as the caller heard the half-word, MOBILE, from Takeshi.

-I am _not _going to have him calling me while I'm away.-

--Yeah, I can imagine.--

"Ok…" Daisuke mumbled. "Hiwatari-kun next…"

--WHAT! YOU'RE CALLING _THAT _CREEP?--

Ignoring the ranting in his head, he dialled the number and waited as it rang.

_Ring ring._

--You're crazy I tell you. CRAZY!--

_Ring ring._

--He'll be over killing you before you know it!--

_Ring ring. "Hello. The person you are calling is not available at the moment so please leave a message after the tone. BEEEEP!"_

"Uh, hello? Hiwatari-kun? It's Daisuke. Just calling to tell you that I'm going to be leaving Azumano for a year for…travelling." He stuttered on that word, knowing that the teenager would know exactly why he was really leaving.

"Um…that's it…ok bye!"

Click! "_Thankyou for calling!" _At the other end, Satoshi stared at the phone then leant back on the wall.

: He's leaving:

.:Apparently so. Now who am I going to chase for a whole year:.

Satoshi groaned. :Not _you._:

His answer was greeted by silence so he settled back and thought about things, oblivious that at this very moment, Daisuke's ears were turning deaf by a certain annoyed Thief…

Daisuke sighed and headed up the stairs. -Better get packing.- he thought miserably.

_**

* * *

At the Harada residence…**_

"Riku? What's wrong?" Risa asked, hearing soft sobbing noises from the other side of Riku's bedroom door.

There was no answer, except for a muffling sound which showed that Riku was trying to stop her tears with her pillow. Risa went in anyway, and saw her elder sister by 5 minutes, crying her eyes out onto her pillow.

Risa gasped. "Riku! What's wrong? Why are you crying?" she asked, running to her sister's bedside.

Riku hiccoughed, and turned to face her with red, swollen eyes.

"It's-it's…Niwa-kun! He's leaving Azumano for a whole year!" she broke down again, this time crying into her sister's shoulder. Risa's face went through three different phases: 1. Shock. 2. More shock. 3. Determination.

"Riku? Do you want Niwa-kun to feel guilty when he leaves because you're so sad? Sure, you can cry all you want at home, but put up a brave face for him!" she reprimanded her sister determinedly.

Riku sniffled, and nodded, grabbing a few tissues to wipe her face.

"Listen, this is what we'll do." Risa told her. "We'll make him a card to say good luck, and we'll bring it over together tonight! And we'll bring him some ornaments to remember us by too." She added thoughtfully.

Riku nodded again and smiled. "Thanks Risa. Except…you bring it alone. I don't want him to see me like this. And I'll cry again when I see him."

"OK Riku!" Risa smiled happily. "Anything to help my sister and her boyfriend's relationship!"

Risa hopped out of the room to get supplies, leaving a now embarrassed Riku behind.

_**2 hours later…**_

"OK! That's it, we're done!" Risa smiled and gave her twin a high five. "I'll go bring it over now!"

Riku nodded and hugged her sister. "Thank you so much Risa! Tell him I'll go see him when we send him off. Oh and…" Riku looked down, embarrassed. "I'm sorry that I stopped you from going to see Dark tonight."

Risa smiled gently. "Don't worry Riku! I'm still going to be able to see Dark-san! But tonight, it's for you and Niwa-kun!" (She _thought _she'll be able to see him still.)

Risa waved goodbye and headed off happily. She'll do anything if it included matchmaking.

Many minutes later, she arrived safely at the Niwa house. She rang the doorbell and hid the card and basket of ornaments behind her back. She wanted to surprise Niwa-kun.

The door opened and Emiko beamed at Risa.

"Hello Risa! Can I help you with anything?"

Risa blushed and nodded. "I'm here to bring Niwa-kun a good luck card from me and Riku. And also some other things."

Emiko nodded and motioned her to come in. "That's sweet of you! I'm sure Daisuke will take them along when he goes!"

Risa gaped. "You mean, he's going _alone_?"

"Why yes!" Emiko beamed even brighter still. "He's going travelling alone! I'll go call him now. Just make yourself at home Risa!" With that, Emiko practically pranced up the stairs

Risa nodded dumbly and sat down at the table where Kosuke smiled gently at her. She could barely register this new bit of information that _he was actually going without his family._

Emiko came down the stairs shortly, smiling sheepishly. "I'm sorry Risa, but he'll be down in a minute. He, ah, needs to settle something." She exchanged a meaningful look with Kosuke, who nodded understandably. What she meant was that Dark was still in control from the heist and not that quite ready to give in.

Risa nodded again and Emiko beamed. "Ok, Risa, just do what you want for now until Daisuke comes down. I need to talk with Kosuke for a moment!" The said two left the room, whispering about something, and Risa decided to head up the stairs to Daisuke's room.

She stood at the closed door and listened. She couldn't hear anything so she knocked on the door. What she heard next surprised her.

"Emiko! Daisuke's being unfair! Why do I have to do what he wants for his girl, when I want to get out too?"

Risa gasped and opened the door. Sure enough, lounging inside on the bed with a smirk plastered on his face was Dark. His smirk faded when he noticed that he wasn't talking to Emiko but to Risa.

"_Dark-san? _What are you doing here?" she asked, not even going into crazed-fan-girl mode for the sake of her sister.

Dark jumped off the bed and ran to the open balcony, calling to With on the way. As playful as he was, he couldn't risk their secret being exposed. He flew off the balcony and landed on the roof next door, where he sat observing Risa's predicted fan-girl antics.

She ran out after him and looked around frantically. "WAIT! Dark-san, where's Niwa-kun? I need to speak to him for Riku!"

-Riku-san?-

Oh crap, Dark thought as their DNA reacted.

Risa saw something bright red out of the corner of her eye, and she turned to see Daisuke desperately scrabbling for a hold on the roof next door.

"Niwa-kun! What are you doing there?"

Daisuke didn't answer because he slipped at that very moment. He plummeted down and he closed his eyes as Risa screamed, frightened.

Minutes later, he opened his eyes to a pained 'kyuu'-ing noise. He looked down to see that he had landed on With in the form of Dark's wings.

"Sorry With!" he said, getting off. With an indignant kyuu, With transformed back and hopped onto his shoulder, a bandage on his head.

"Oh my god!"

Daisuke looked up at Risa, who had seen it all; well, she saw With transform so that was about enough.

--Busted,--

All Daisuke could do was agree as he rushed into the house and onto his balcony where Risa still stood. She eyed his outfit before looking him in the eye.

"Niwa-kun, are you Dark-san?"

Daisuke blushed, and Risa guessed that she was right. Just as she was going to say something else, Daisuke clamped his hand on her mouth.

"Please don't tell anyone, Harada-san. It's very important that nobody knows this."

She wrenched his hand off and looked at him with pleading eyes. "Not even Riku?"

Daisuke shook his head. "Not even Riku-san."

"But," Risa begged. "Riku would want to know something as important as this! We even made you a card and brought you some things to bring along and remember us by!"

Daisuke's eyes widened as he saw the card for him, and the things that Riku put in for him (I can't think of what to write so I'll just let you use your imagination XD). Suddenly, his heart began pounding really fast and he looked away. But it was too late; Dark had all he needed to come out.

"I'm sorry Risa, but it's very important that Riku doesn't know yet."

Risa looked up into amethyst orbs that for once didn't captivate her as much as they normally did. Not now that she knew they belonged to someone who was the same as her sister's boyfriend. She nodded and Dark smiled.

"B-b-but how? I don't understand…"

Dark sat down and motioned for her to follow suit, which she did. He explained the history of the Niwa families, and their love gene reactions. He also explained how the curse was cured.

Risa nodded, suddenly feeling guilty. As if he could read her mind, Dark smirked.

"And your rejecting of his love letter was the first step in the unrequited love bit. But don't worry; if you hadn't done that, I wouldn't be here right now. Plus," he winked. "He wouldn't be with Riku now if you hadn't rejected him."

Risa nodded, feeling like a bobblehead and feeling also a little less guilty. Dark stood up and stretched.

"Well, I should get you home now before Riku worries."

Risa nodded again, and put down the things she had brought over gently. Dark picked her up and flew her home, silently regretting not listening to Emiko in the first place.

When they arrived, Dark looked down at Risa who looked on the verge of crying. He lifted her chin with one hand so that their eyes met, and he smiled.

"Remember, Daisuke and I may share one body, but we are completely different people. So don't feel guilty, ok?"

Risa nodded, feeling a tad bit happier. That happiness turned into elation when Dark bent down and kissed her.

He broke away, smiling still. He put a finger to his lips, and flew away, leaving a blushing Risa.

The door creaked open and Risa turned around, hiding the blush as best as she could. "Risa? Did you bring it?"

Risa clamped down on her confused emotions and smiled happily. "Yup! He was really happy!" which was true, seeing as he _had _transformed into Dark.

Riku smiled in relief. Risa entered and decided to ask Riku one question.

"Riku, what would you do if someone you knew and cared for turned out to be Dark?"

Riku froze and turned around, eyes glinting dangerously. "Then Dark is DEAD."

Risa laughed nervously, but inside, she was smiling. Looks like Dark would be around for a long time yet, she thought.

"Why do you ask?"

Risa smiled. "Oh nothing. That's what Niwa-kun asked me." She lied.

"Oh."

Riku walked up the stairs to her room, and Risa smiled at Riku's back. "If only you knew, big sister." She whispered quietly.

-We blew it-

Dark nodded as he flew back home. --Well, hopefully she's not going to tell anyone like promised.--

-Yeah…-

Luckily, when they got back, Emiko didn't ask any questions. She looked like she _expected _this to happen, and wasn't upset either. As Daisuke went to sleep, he wondered what it would be like leaving for a whole year.

-One more day…-

**_

* * *

In the town…_**

"Tohru! Tohru! Kyo! Yuki! Shigure!" Momiji cried ecstatically, bursting into the house with Hatori following behind. "Guess what Momiji has heard?"

Tohru turned around from her place at the stove, ladle in hand, and smiled happily, while Kyo shouted at the cheerful boy and Yuki wondered in sleepily.

"Momiji! Hatori! Come in!" she bustled about, trying to make the guests as comfortable as possible while Momiji bounded around happily with Kyo chasing after him.

"I do apologize, Tohru." Said Hatori as he closed the poor door behind him. "He insisted on coming as soon as he heard the news."

"Oh no! It's no trouble at all!" Tohru insisted frantically. "We're happy that you came! Really!" she added just as Kyo rushed by shouting threats at the bunny boy. Hatori raised an eyebrow but nodded anyway.

Yuki frowned as he accepted a cup of hot water from Tohru. He was woken up properly by the sounds of a mad cat chasing a cheerful bunny, which was the perfect remedy for any non-morning person.

"What news?"

Momiji immediately skidded to a halt and bounced over to the table where everyone except for Kyo was seated.

Ignoring Kyo slamming into the wall by this sudden move, and Shigure's cries of protest at his poor wall, Momiji smiled happily.

"Remember the abandoned estate right next to Shigure's house?"

Everyone except Hatori nodded, he already knew of course; even Tohru had seen it before. Kyo peeled himself from the wall and stomped over to the table and sat down, still grumbling angrily.

"Well, Momiji has heard that someone is moving in there!" he announced cheerfully. Everyone (except Hatori) gasped, and Shigure mocked fainting, earning him a knock on the head from Kyo and Yuki.

Tohru smiled again. The prospect of a new neighbour made her feel happy. "Do you know who it is Momiji?" she asked, eyes sparkling joyfully.

Said boy shook his head. "No. But we'll find out when they get here!" he cheered, and he and Tohru did a sort of happy dance together as they listed all the things they could do with the neighbours, and if they had kids or not.

Kyo grumbled some more and Yuki raised an eyebrow. "Where did he hear this from?" he asked Hatori.

Hatori shrugged. "He has his ways. I don't know where he hears half his things from, or how he arranges things like the hot springs trip."

Shigure grinned. "Well, this looks like its going to be interesting…"

Kyo groaned and punched Shigure again. "Damn, why does everyone have to be so loud in the morning?"

He was ignored as Momiji sat up and grinned. "And they're coming in one day!"

**

* * *

Yay! I got to the Fruits Basket part eventually! I wasn't going to put it in, because I accidentally made Risa find out, but then I did promise, so there you are! There'll be more on Tohru and friends in the next chapter, when Daisuke moves in. Oh, I just want to laugh at the irony of it all…**

**Risa wasn't _supposed _to find out, but then I put it in by accident and couldn't bring myself to take it out, so blame that for the lack of Furuba part. You probably won't hear anymore about the twins, except for when they send Daisuke off.**

**Hey, uh, what is the name of the town where the Sohma's live? Cause I don't know and I don't want to keep writing _the_ town. Please tell. **

**Thanks to my first reviewer for reviewing _and _liking my story! Thankyou, thankyou, here's a cupcake. **

**Please R&R, and if I feel good, I'll update quicker _and _consider a sequel. Well, I'll update faster anyway because I can't wait to get to the next chapter where Daisuke comes in! Please R&R!**


	3. Welcome Party

**A Change of Sorts**

**OK, third chapter is up and contains what you've all been waiting for (drum roll please. No? Well trumpets then.) _tan-tan-tarrrraaaaaaaaa!_ Daisuke moves into the empty estate next to Shigure's one! Enjoy, and review review review!**

**Chapter 3: Welcome Party!**

"Oh my god, my Daisuke is growing up! Be safe ok?" Emiko squealed as she swept Daisuke into a loving hug. Daisuke nodded mutely, ignoring Dark at the back of his mind.

--She's faking it just because everyone else is there.-- Dark stated dryly.

Riku was nearly crying, but she put up a brave face and hugged Daisuke as well.

"Be safe Niwa-kun. I love you." She whispered.

Daisuke turned bright red but he hugged her back. "I love you too Riku-san."

"Yeah! Go Daisuke!" cheered Takeshi, who was also there. Risa nudged him, knowing all too well that Daisuke could change any minute now.

Risa went up to hug Daisuke too, and she felt tears prickling at her eyes.

"Be safe Niwa-kun. For Riku's sake." She whispered softly. Daisuke nodded, and replied back. "Dark tells you guys not to find another boyfriend or else." He smiled slightly at this.

Risa did too, and she whispered to Dark. "Don't worry, I won't. And I'll make sure Riku won't either."

Dark grinned mentally, and Risa thought she could feel another pair of invisible arms hug her too. She broke away and smiled, just as Takeshi came and tackled Daisuke.

"TAKESHI!" Daisuke yelled, pushing Takeshi off as he struggled to sit up. Takeshi grinned, "Come on Daisuke! This is the last time you can yell at me for a whole year! Enjoy it!"

Daisuke pushed him off and glared at him, but Takeshi only smirked. "Looks like I'll be getting all the scoops on Dark then. Too bad I can't get you anymore pictures." He whispered the last part, causing Daisuke's face to flush.

"Oh well, I better get another person to copy off. Hey, Risa…"

"Get away from me you." She scowled playfully and pushed him away.

Kosuke and Daiki took Daisuke away from the others for awhile as they had a 'man-to-man-to-Daisuke' talk.

"Remember, don't let anyone find out." ordered Daiki.

"Stay safe and make some good friends. We've told With to bring us an update every month. Your okaa-san wanted it to be every day, but we told her With would get tired." Kosuke told him on the brighter side. "Remember what you have to do."

-…they don't exactly trust me do they?-

--Well you _are _somewhat of a klutz.--

"Ok." Daisuke nodded as they headed back to the group. The bus came, and Daisuke boarded it, waving a last goodbye.

"BYE!" everyone called, Riku already sobbing and Risa patting her back. "Come back soon!" Riku cried out, and Daisuke nodded.

As the bus left, Takeshi grinned and said one thing that would make Daisuke remember him, definitely.

"I got your mobile number off your mom!"

Daisuke gasped and opened the window quickly, sticking his head out.

"TAKESHI!"

Takeshi's grin grew broader as he waved back. "A nice memorial, don't you think?" he told the others cheekily. Emiko was too busy beaming proudly, Daiki nodding his head in a 'yes, yes he's growing up now' way, Kosuke rubbing the back of his head in regret, and the twins comforting each other, to notice him.

"Oh well." He shrugged and left, leaving the group behind.

* * *

Daisuke leaned onto the window. He couldn't believe he was really doing this.

--More like you _had _to do it--

-Yeah…-

--There better be some pretty girls in this…what's it called again?--

-Can't remember.-

--Well, there better be some for me to flirt with.--

-Two-timer. How about what you said to Harada-san?-

--That was manly talk-- Dark grinned. --Unlike you.--

-Yeah well, I'll keep my unmanly promise while you'll break your manly one in 5 minutes.-

Dark shrugged and decided to go to sleep, leaving Daisuke with his own thoughts.

He sighed and looked outside. A whole year until he came back…tears welled up in his eyes and he quickly wiped them off. Riku wouldn't want him to cry…

The bus stopped and a few people got on. One of them, a black and white spiky-haired young man (guess who? XD) who looked like a punk, sat on the seat next to him.

Being the polite sort, even though he was slightly scared, Daisuke stuck out his hand and smiled.

"Hi! My name is Daisuke Niwa. A pleasure to meet you."

The teen shook his hand and smiled back slightly, although his mind seemed elsewhere.

"Hi. My name is Hatsuharu Sohma. Just call me Haru. Nice to meet you too…" Haru looked around blankly. "Where does this bus go anyway?"

Daisuke gaped, before regaining his composure. "Uh, it depends where you're going."

Haru told him (remember, I still don't know what _the_ town is called.) and Daisuke beamed.

"That's where I'm going too! Well, this bus stops there, so I'll tell you when we get there."

Haru nodded his thanks and went to sleep, leaving a surprised Daisuke.

-Right…so he doesn't know where this bus goes and he boarded it?-

--Zzzzzz…--

-Oh, right.-

Daisuke smiled as he too dozed for a bit as the bus rumbled along to its eventual destination…_the _town.

* * *

"Come on come on! Momiji heard that they are coming in 10 minutes!" Momiji exclaimed, bouncing around Shigure's house…yet again.

"Where do you hear these things from?" Kyo groaned, watching as Tohru bustled about getting a 'Welcome' basket for the newcomers.

Momiji simply grinned and stuck his tongue out and Kyo groaned again.

"You know, you've got some nerve coming here and making Tohru work her neck off like that."

Tohru turned around and smiled at him. "Don't worry Kyo-kun! I don't mind! I used to do this all the time when new neighbours came!"

Yuki, who was acting as the basket holder for the moment, glared at Kyo. "Stupid cat, if you worry that much then get over here and help."

Kyo merely growled and stomped over to the stairs, presumably to the roof.

Tohru stared after him, before going to panic stage 5. "Oh my god! Did I make Kyo-kun upset? Oh no oh no…" she fretted, nearly dropping the food she was holding.

Yuki sighed and looked over to her. "Don't worry; he's just grumpy because Momiji's here. He can't stand the hyper activeness. You can go up and talk to him if you want. I don't mind."

Tohru looked from the basket, to the stairs, and back the basket. She shook her head sadly as Momiji bounced by with another warning of 5 minutes left.

"I'll go up when the basket is finished." She said hesitantly. Yuki nodded and smiled, gesturing for her to put the food in its place. She smiled back and put them in, before hurrying to get some more goodies.

Yuki took a peek inside the basket, and then he smiled. The newcomers were going to be really happy when they came.

* * *

"End of the line! All off the bus!" boomed a loud voice. Daisuke jumped up, and looked around. He sighed in relief. Lucky that his destination was the end of the line.

He gently shook Haru until he too woke up. "We're there!" he told the sleepy boy.

They got off the bus, and Haru wondered off, muttering his thanks. Daisuke stood there with his luggage, which wasn't too much considering he was going to live there for a year, yet it was still impossible to carry it _all _the way.

"OK now…" he muttered, taking out the map Emiko gave him. "Let's see…how to get all my stuff there…"

His questions were answered as a small moving truck pulled up, and a tanned man came out, looking at his list and staring around. His gaze fell on Daisuke, who was still standing there cluelessly, and he marched over.

"You Daisuke Niwa?" he asked with an Australian accent. When Daisuke nodded, he scratched his head for a moment, looking him over.

"Mighty short for a 16 year old. Ah well, better then my friend." He told him conversationally. "He's 24, same as me, and he's only this short, that's my wee little mate!" he gestured around about 5 centimetres higher up than Daisuke's highest standing spike. Daisuke blushed; two years and he had only grown a bit.

As they walked towards the truck with Daisuke's luggage, the man told him his name was Jim, and talked about how he and his mate Tommy (classic, isn't it?) came to Japan. Daisuke told him about his own life, and Jim nodded, interested.

"Now," Jim said when the entire luggage had been lugged onto the truck. "Normally, my customers have to call their own cab or something. But I'll excuse you." He added when Daisuke's face fell.

"It's not everyday a 16 year old kid comes here on his own." He said as Daisuke got in the truck. "Dunno what the world's coming to." He muttered as he heaved himself in.

Jim drove him to his new temporary home, all the time talking about something or the other (Aussies like to chat a lot), until they got close to his home.

Daisuke marvelled at the scenery around him; Emiko was right. He _did _like the open areas. Jim saw him looking out the window and he grinned.

"Thought you might like that, mate. You seemed the type. Just like my 'lil buddy, he's an artist. Betcha you are too, ain't you?" When Daisuke nodded, he continued. "Well, you'll find plenty of things to paint here, Tommy painted them all! Oh, and you've got some neighbours." He gestured at the house that could just be spotted behind all the nature.

"They're a nice lot, them Sohma's. Don't really get out much, until that girl Tohru Honda came to live with them. They're about your age those ones. The missie is particularly kind, invites me in whenever I go deliver something to their place."

Daisuke nodded mutely. Sohma? Must be family with Hatsuharu then.

--Suppose so…--

Daisuke nearly jumped out of his seat. -DARK! Stop doing that!-

--Ok, ok. Hey, that Tohru sounds kinda cute…kinda like Risa.--

-Stay away from her.- Daisuke automatically thought. The truck pulled over then, stopping their conversation abruptly. They got off, and unloaded the entire luggage into the house.

Once finished, Daisuke fumbled around for his wallet, but Jim stopped him.

"Don't worry mate. Your ma already paid me! Plus, you remind me of Tommy! Heck, he's got flamin' red hair too, except your one's brighter! I'll bring him over sometime, eh?"

Daisuke nodded, grateful, and Jim gave him a little business card.

"Here, give me a hoy anytime you need something, or if you need help. Although that Sohma lot will probably be better." He laughed a bit. "They've been around longer than I have! Knowing them, they'll probably be around soon with a welcome party."

The redhead nodded again.

"Well, I best be going now mate. My wife will have my hide if I'm home too late!"

Daisuke laughed slightly, this Australian accent was really confusing him.

Jim left, and Daisuke turned around, sighing deeply. -Okaa-san's mean.-

--That's like the 16th time you've said that now.--

-But it's true…-

Daisuke took out one of the mirrors from his bags and put it on the table in the living room, where he sat down. This house was designed the traditional Japanese way (like Shigure's one) so there were no chairs at the table. This was going to take some getting used to…

He looked into the mirror, where Dark was smirking at him.

"Shut up Dark. You're in this too, like it or not."

"Why don't you explore first, then we'll unpack and talk about what to do." Dark replied, changing the topic. Daisuke grumbled, but it was still a rational idea.

It was a pretty small and cosy house, even though he didn't like the _reason_ he was here. There was a small kitchen, a bathroom, a few bedrooms with already made beds (only one of them did _not _involve lying on the floor, and that one was upstairs), a laundry, the living room which was also used for meals apparently, and a toilet.

Daisuke wondered back into the living room and looked around. At least the house was already furnished. It looked like someone came here regularly to clean it. There was electricity, TV, a phone; running water…looked like Daiki was right when he said it provided him with everything he would need.

Suddenly, he heard a light rapping on the door, and he quickly went to answer it. He slid open the paper door, albeit a bit crookedly, and blinked at the sight outside.

"WELCOME!" cried three people in the front, a blonde boy, a slightly older-looking brunette girl and an adult man with neck length dark hair. Everyone else behind them either smiled a small welcome or looked off grouching.

"Uh…hi." He replied, slightly bewildered.

The girl in front stepped forward and bowed politely. "My name is Tohru Honda! I'm very pleased to meet and welcome your family here!"

The blonde bounced up and smiled. "I'm Momiji Sohma! This is Shigure Sohma!" he pointed to the adult, who waved childishly. "That's Kyo Sohma!" the grouchy orange-haired teen with red eyes. "And that's Yuki Sohma!" Silvery-purple haired teen with light violet eyes that was standing silently at the back. Purple like Dark, he thought vaguely, but Dark's ones are darker…

"Hi…my name is Daisuke Niwa. I'm staying here alone, my family's back in Azumano."

Silence. Then… "Oh! We're really sorry! We didn't know that!" cried Tohru, and Yuki and Kyo were instantly by her side.

"Don't worry, Honda-san. You didn't know."

"Yeah…what rat boy said."

Daisuke blinked. Rat boy? Strange nickname.

"I'm here because, uh…I wanted to try living here for a change of pace." He muttered, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly and looking away. He could feel purple eyes gazing at him suspiciously, but the boy remained silent.

Momiji hopped up to him and studied him. He finally nodded and smiled. "You were born in the year of the rabbit, weren't you? (this is just some fake guess by me)"

Taken aback, Daisuke nodded. "How did you know…?"

Momiji grinned. "I just do!"

Daisuke smiled back, and looked over at the crowd again. "Uh…come in?"

Tohru, who seemed to be the fretting type, instantly shook her head. "No! We wouldn't want to bother you! I mean, you just got here and all and you're all by yourself…"

Daisuke smiled sweetly. "It's no problem! Come in!"

So they did. Shigure gazed around the house and sighed contently. "Ahhhh, all clean. Just like home. At least, just like home since Tohru came!"

Tohru beamed. "Thankyou Shigure-san! I come here weekly with the cleaner to clean it!"

Shocked silence. "Y-y-you did it Honda-san?" Daisuke asked, shocked.

Tohru nodded happily. "Yup! It was fun getting to know Miyuki-chan!"

"Oh…" Daisuke lead them to the living room, where the mirror stood alone on the table. Tohru glanced at it, and then stared. Tears seemed to well up inside her eyes as she looked at it. Yuki noticed and came over to her.

"Honda-san, what's wrong?"

She sniffled, and wiped away her tears. "It's nothing…it's just the same type as the one my mom used to have. She always said that it brought out the other self of people, and that was how it was special. (more rubbish from me.)"

Daisuke shifted nervously.

-If only she knew how true that was…-

--Yeah…she's cute. Wonder why she's so sad?--

-Dunno.-

"Honda-san? If it bothers you, I'll put it away." He offered gently. Tohru shook her head and smiled.

"No! It's ok. Don't let me get in the way of your things."

Momiji bounded over to Daisuke's suitcases. "So you haven't unpacked yet Dai-kun?" he asked, immediately giving him a nickname. He knew Daisuke was the kind type, one that was _not _like Kyo.

Daisuke smiled at the nickname; just like what his okaa-san called him. "No…just the mirror."

Kyo gave him a strange look. "So you took out the mirror first, of all things?" When he nodded, Kyo snorted. "It's like you wanted to upset Tohru on purpose…"

Daisuke blushed and shook his head frantically. "NO! It's just that…it was the one my friend, Riku Harada-san gave me. I brought along because she gave it to me to remember her by…" Daisuke looked forlornly at the mirror. That last bit was correct, just that it wasn't the reason he brought it out, of course.

Shigure grinned, and slid over to Daisuke slyly. "Ahhhh, your girlfriend, Daisuke-kun?" Daisuke blushed and Shigure laughed. "Thought so!"

Desperate to change the subject, Daisuke looked through the cupboards and found some polished teacups, presumably by Tohru, and took some out, and looked for some tea. "Um…is tea alright?"

Before Tohru could protest, Yuki spoke up. "That'll be fine. Except there is no tea in this house." Daisuke blushed, embarrassed.

"And that's where we come in!" cheered Momiji happily. He held out the 'Welcome' basket to Daisuke, smiling. "We made this for you! There are heaps of things here!"

Daisuke's face grew red. "Ahhhh, you really didn't need to."

"But we did!" insisted Tohru. She placed the basket on the kitchen counter, so Daisuke had no choice but to reluctantly accept.

He rummaged through, and found the tea in a cute little bunny shaped box. Daisuke smiled; it was cute. He brewed the tea, and minutes later, they were all sipping some of the refreshing drink.

Daisuke put his cup down, and smiled gratefully. "Thankyou for coming with the basket. I really can't thankyou enough."

-At least otou-san won't have to worry.-

"No problem!" smiled Tohru cheerfully. "Just tell us if you need something and we'll be right over!"

Daisuke nodded; people here really were kind. "Um, just out of curiosity, is Hatsuharu Sohma related to you?"

He was greeted with blank stares. "Never mind…" he sighed.

"You mean you found him?" Shigure asked, surprised.

"Well, I saw him on the bus here, and he said he was getting off here too…"

"Oh no…" cried Tohru. She jumped up, and excused herself. "I'll go check to see if Haru is back at home!"

She rushed out, and Daisuke scratched his head, confused. Yuki then spoke up to explain things.

"Haru is our cousin, and he tends to get lost a lot."

"Oh…"

Yuki reminded him of Hiwatari-kun…silent most of the time, with a dark secret to hide. He blinked. Now _why _did he think that Yuki would have a dark secret?

"You're probably wondering this right now, so we'll explain some things to you." Said Shigure. "Tohru is not related to us in any way. We found her camping on our property because her mother and father had died; first her father, then her mother. She lived with her grandpa, but then he had to get the house renovated. She didn't want to burden anyone so she decided to live on her own until her grandfather's renovations were complete. We decided to let her live with us, and she is basically our housekeeper."

"You better not think that she can't be hurt shrimp." Kyo glowered at him. "Just because she's always smiling, doesn't mean she doesn't have something that she wants no-one else to know."

"I know how that feels…" Daisuke mumbled without thinking. When he noticed everyone staring at him, he blushed and quickly stood up.

"I'll get more tea!"

The Sohma's exchanged confused glances; strange kid…they all thought.

When he came back, Tohru was there again, with another person. "Haru?" Daisuke asked.

He raised a hand in greeting. "Hi. Daisuke right?"

"Yeah…that's me."

There was silence after this, until it was broken by a yelp from Momiji.

"Awwwwww! That's so cute!" Daisuke looked over to the blonde kid, who was kneeling down, peering at a white ball of fuzz. With noticed him, and immediately bounded over, 'kyuu'-ing indignantly.

"Ahhhh, With! That's where you went…" he spoke to the little bunny-creature. Momiji straightened up and went over to With, smiling happily.

"Is he a bunny?"

"Kinda…" Daisuke replied.

-Dark, what is he?-

--Uhhhh…my wings?--

Daisuke sat down again and placed With on the table. "This is my pet bunny-thing, With. He's favourite food is strawberries."

With looked at them all with wide crimson eyes. "Kyuu?" it asked hopefully.

"Not now With." Daisuke gently scolded. It whimpered and hopped back onto Daisuke's shoulder.

"Daisuke-kun, how old are you?" asked Shigure.

"I'm 16…"

"And what school are you going to?"

"I think it's called Kaiwaia High…"

Tohru and Momiji beamed. "That's the school we go to!" Tohru exclaimed happily. "And Yuki-kun, Kyo-kun and I are 16 too!"

"Oh…"

"You'll probably be wearing your old uniform until you get your new uniform…" Yuki put in.

"It won't look good on you." Kyo snorted. "You're too short."

Daisuke blushed; why did everyone have to tell him that?

"Dai-kun! This is cool! Where did you get this from?" an admiring question snapped Daisuke out of his thoughts. He looked over at Momiji, who was holding up one of Dark's thieving outfits, the one with white lining the tall-necked and a white stripe down the middle sleeveless top. "It looks a little big for you though…" Momiji said, holding it to himself.

In a flash, Daisuke was at Momiji's side, grabbed the outfit and shoved it back in his suitcase. He silently thanked his training for his speed. Hopefully, no-one got a good look at it yet. He had forgotten that Emiko had packed some outfits for Dark too.

"My mum is a seamstress." He half-lied. Well, she _did _make the thieving outfits. "I must have put it in on accident." Two sets of red and purple eyes looked at him suspiciously, but he ignored them. "I suppose I should get these upstairs…" he lugged the clothes bag over to the stairs, and proceeded to lump it up, step by step. Tohru and Momiji immediately jumped up to help, while the others just sat at the table.

Sneakily, Shigure opened the smallest bag, which contained all the little things Daisuke had brought along. He quickly found a picture, and pulled it out, not noticing the black feather that came with it. When Daisuke came back, Shigure feigned excitement and held it up.

"Daisuke-kun! Is this the Riku-san that you were talking about?" he sang out cheekily.

Daisuke froze in his tracks; it was indeed Riku's picture, and his heart was starting to pound.

"Excuse me, I need to go to the bathroom!" he lamely replied, and ran back up the stairs, clutching his heart. Tohru, who had just come past, stopped and stared.

"But Niwa-kun, the bathroom is down…stairs."

He ignored her and ran into his new bedroom. Tohru blinked and turned back to the others.

"Did Niwa-kun have purple streaks?" shakes heads. "Was Niwa-kun shorter than me?" Nods.

"Oh…" she said. "Must have been my imagination…"

She sat down with the others and waited for Daisuke to come back from his little, ah, bathroom trip. Momiji looked around nervously, and announced that he would go up to see if Daisuke was alright. No-one said anything so he headed up the stairs.

-Dark let me get back in control.-

--What? Like the other night? Why?--

-Because then they'll find out! - Daisuke pleaded desperately.

As if on cue, Momiji's small voice could be heard. "I'll go up and see if he's alright!"

"Well," Dark grinned. "They can't find what isn't there!" With that, he opened the window, and leapt up on the roof. He listened as Momiji checked every room, then leave the 2nd floor and back to the others.

"I'll call With." Dark mentally called the bunny, who, being the wings of his master, responded by jumping up the stairs and up a little ladder that led to the roof with a 'kyuu'.

"You little annoying bunny!" Kyo raged. With had, unfortunately, used Kyo's head as a stepping stone on the way. Kyo followed the white bunny up the ladder, and climbed out onto the roof. "Now where- what the?"

His eyes opened wide as he saw Dark on the roof, With 'kyuu'-ing happily on his shoulder.

"Who are you?"

Dark mocked surprise.

"You haven't heard of me? I'm the great Phantom Thief Dark! Recently I've been travelling a bit."

Kyo raised an eyebrow. "What's so great about _you_?" he sneered.

Dark put a hand to his heart in mock shock. "Why? Because I have never failed a thievery before. And this too of course." So Kyo didn't see it, Dark hid With as he became his wings.

He stood up, jet black wings spread out majestically. Kyo gasped, and Dark smirked.

"Yup, me. Kaitou Dark. Thief of art, thief of hearts."

He looked around. "If I were you, I'll stay silent about seeing me until I make my first appearance. Or else," he whipped out a black feather, which glowed threateningly. "You won't be very happy soon."

Kyo gulped; he didn't like the looks of that feather. He nodded quickly and headed downstairs and back to the table. The others gave him queer looks because of his silence, but he ignored them. He glanced over at Tohru, who was looking at him with worried eyes, then he looked away, slightly guilty. A black object caught his eye and he peered closer. A black feather next to Daisuke's bag? Before he could investigate though, Daisuke came back downstairs, smiling sheepishly.

"Sorry about that. I forgot the bathroom was downstairs and got lost."

Shigure chuckled. "You're worse than Haru!" and everyone laughed, except for Haru who frowned and Kyo, who scowled. While no-one was looking, With crept by and removed the black feather, replacing it with a black paintbrush.

Daisuke smiled as With handed the black feather back to him. He better be more careful with that in the future.

"So, that _was _Riku-san in the picture?" Shigure asked, indicating the framed photo. Daisuke nodded a yes before stashing his things back in the bag and taking it upstairs too. Everyone got up to help, except for Kyo who narrowed his eyes at the black paintbrush.

Yuki noticed this and scowled. Great, the stupid cat was jealous of _art _now.

When they had all finished, Daisuke thanked them all greatly.

"Thankyou for the basket, and thank you for your help too." He said.

"It was nothing." Shigure replied airily. "I think I better get back now before Mii-chan (is that her name?) gets worked up over my late deadlines again…I'm an author by the way." He added, noticing Daisuke's confused glance.

"Yes, we won't bother you anymore!" said Tohru. She bowed, and the others followed suit (well, they didn't bow but they did say goodbye.).

"Bye!" Daisuke waved. "And thanks again!"

Tohru waved back energetically, and called out. "Come whenever you need something!" and Momiji grinned. Yuki and Kyo still regarded him suspiciously, but Yuki waved, nevertheless. Kyo just grouched off and pulled Tohru with him.

Daisuke's smile faded, and he turned back to his empty house. He sighed.

-Just one year left…-

--Come on, it won't be that bad.--

-At least I can cook. It was nice of them to take the basket over.-

--Yeah. I can imagine if Risa was in your place…Tohru's cute. She's a lot like Risa, but more kind.--

Daisuke sighed again. Might as well make dinner…

* * *

"Wasn't Niwa-kun nice?" asked Tohru happily as she served dinner that night. Momiji and Haru had left already, and they were talking about Daisuke.

"Yes, I like him. Really nice kid." Shigure stated thoughtfully.

"He seemed nice enough…" said Yuki. "But he seems to be hiding something. Wonder why he would have a secret? He seems so cheerful too..."

"If he has something he doesn't want to tell us, then we shouldn't pry." Insisted Tohru, having many things like that of her own.

Kyo grumbled and didn't answer and Yuki nodded in agreement. Tohru smiled again. "I think he's really kind! I'll go and help him settle in again tomorrow!"

"I'll come with you Honda-san." Yuki immediately offered.

"Yeah…me too." Kyo said, still slightly disturbed by the day's events.

"Don't worry! I know you have a lot of things to do. I'll go by myself!" Tohru beamed. "It's very close after all."

"Well…if you're sure Honda-san…" Yuki began hesitantly.

"I'm sure!" Tohru nodded.

"Ok."

"Yeah…" Kyo grumbled.

That being settled, they began to eat dinner. Tohru smiled happily. Sometimes she just loved to be at home.

**

* * *

Oh my GOD that was _long_! It's the longest chapter I've written for any of my stories! Yay, Daisuke meets the Sohma's and Tohru! Did I make them seem out of character? And Kyo meets Dark…and being the arrogant type he is, Kyo doesn't make any connection between Daisuke and Dark! XD just for Daisuke's sake, that is.**

**Hope you liked my chapter! R&R and I'll update soon! There will be Tohru's visit, Daisuke's first day at school, and…Dark's first thievery in this town! Oh yeah, what's the name of this place again? XD please R&R! **


	4. More Visitors!

**A Change of Sorts**

**Chapter number 4! Hope you'll enjoy this story, cause I'm enjoying writing it! Really fun mixing everything up XD. Sorry if I don't get to Dark's thieving in this chapter or Daisuke's first day; I drag things out too much! If you want, you can criticise me, but I got this thing for thinking up new ideas on the spot, leading to dragged out nonsense. Please R&R! **

**Chapter 4: More Visitors!**

--Hey Daisuke!--

Daisuke groaned and rolled over. "Just 3 more minutes okaa-san…" he muttered.

--Uh Daisuke?--

"I want to sleep some more…"

--There's someone at the door.--

"Riku-san, you're mean…"

Dark blinked. So Daisuke dreamed about girls now, huh? Hey!

--THAT'S MY JOB YOU IDIOT!--

"What!" Daisuke sat up quickly, Dark's voice doing well to awake him.

--_ I _dream about girls, not _you_!-- Dark scolded, a frown marring his fine features.

"Oh, is that it?" mumbled Daisuke, about to go to sleep again.

--Daisuke, there's someone at the door.--

"Okaa-san will answer it…" he murmured sleepily. _But your okaa-san isn't here. _

"Dark, did you say something?"

--No.--

"Oh. Must have been my imagination."

Dark shrugged. --Who cares? Just go get the door.--

Daisuke yawned and sat up in his bed. His hand reached out for the ladder instinctively, but was confused when it found nothing but thin air. Still half asleep, he continued looking for the ladder while Dark watched, stupefied. That just goes to prove that most of the things Daisuke do in the morning is purely out of nature.

--Daisuke, this bed doesn't have a ladder.--

-Hnnn?-

--You're not at home so there _is _no ladder for you to climb down.--

-Oh…-

Daisuke woke up now, and peered stupidly at the short distance between the ground and his bed.

_Tap tap tap._

--The door Daisuke. _The door.--_

"I'm coming!" he yelled to whoever was at the door at the moment.

Grumbling, he walked to the sliding paper door, and pushed it aside. -These doors are so hard to get used to.-

He covered his eyes so as not to blind them from the morning sun and peered at the person outside.

"Hello?"

"Erhem, are you Daisuke Niwa?" asked the man who was the postman.

"Yes."

"Well, here's your mail."

"Thanks…"

As the postman left, Daisuke went to the living room to look at his mail.

-Wait a minute…why do I even have mail?-

--Maybe from Emiko.--

"Maybe…"

He flipped through the letters, only 3…

"Let's see, the first one is from the school…"

He sliced through the seal and pulled out the letter inside.

_Dear Mr Daisuke Niwa,_

_Welcome to Kaiwaia High! You have been placed in class 2-D as the second year of high school. We are also sorry to inform you that due to insufficient workers, there has been a shortage of male uniforms for Kaiwaia High. We therefore ask if it is possible that you retain your former uniform and wear it as substitute for the black uniform of our school. We are sorry for any inconvenience caused… _

-Ironic…-

--Yup. Not inconvenient though; lucky you packed your old uniform in--

-Yeah…at least that one fits me well-

"Hmmmmm, so school starts in 2 days eh?" he looked in his mirror where Dark was attempting to look through his other mail.

"Calm down Dark, you can read them via me anyway."

"Stupid mirror! Hey Daisuke, let me out a bit tonight, eh?"

"OK, we'll go flying tonight." Daisuke laughed at Dark's personal war with the mirror.

He picked up his 2nd letter and twirled it around in his fingers before tossing it in the bin.

"Junk mail…" he muttered. The 3rd one was from home.

_Dear Daisuke,_

_Is everything alright there? We miss you back here and Riku has only just stopped crying. How is Dark? Make sure you wear a different outfit with each steal; I don't want anyone thinking that I don't have a sense of imagination! (_--Does that really matter?--) _You don't need to reply yet, we'll find out when With comes home with the update. Just have a letter written for him to come back with. Try to keep up some basic training routines; we don't want you fumbling during thefts! Dark, make your first appearance in 1 week, then leave 2 day gaps in between, ok? We have the first card here, just in case. Be safe Daisuke, and make sure you make some good friends over there! Takeshi's grades have started to drop, if it makes you any happier. Good luck!_

Out of the envelope fell a warning notice and a single black feather. Daisuke picked it up, and twirled it around as he read the notice. It was written the same way as the other ones, except it had a bit of an introduction about Dark.

"So, we have to steal the Khaydrin Necklet first? There's only one museum in this town, so that'll be easy." He murmured, eyes scanning the white notice.

--Won't be as fun without creepy boy here though.-- Dark sighed. --Sometimes, things just aren't the same without some particular people. --

"Yeah…I'll go over to the museum this afternoon. Wonder if their security's good? Better eat something now."

As Daisuke stood up and left for the kitchen, Dark remained in the mirror, eyeing the notice. It was flipped around, and had a picture of a black feather drawn on it. There was some small writing over the feather. He read it and smiled to himself, before leaving the mirror and back with Daisuke.

'_Can you see in the darkness of heart? I want to keep it 'DARK'. He is 'DARK MOUSY'. _

* * *

In the Sohma household, the Sohma's were just waking up from their deep slumber. Yuki was the first Sohma up, he, half-asleep of course, sleepily entered the kitchen and promptly fell asleep again on the table. Tohru, who had been up since the dawn chorus started tuning, had prepared breakfast, done the washing, _and _cleaned half of the house.

Kyo was second, and his grumbling and smashing into paper doors and walls managed to effectively wake up Shigure and Yuki. Shigure sauntered in, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes, and immediately foraged through the fridge, looking for any available goodies before breakfast.

"Shigure-san!" Tohru teased, tapping the elder man's shoulder. "Breakfast is ready!"

The Sohma's settled down to another one of Tohru's delicious breakfasts. Shigure took a sip out of his tea and sighed contently.

"Ahhhh, yet another perfect morning begun with Tohru's perfect breakfast, and not a single flaw yet predicted in the day." He rambled, eyes closed in a satisfied way. Kyo and Yuki moaned simultaneously, and the door burst open to reveal Shigure's frustrated editor holding out several pieces of paper and pens.

"SENSEI! Your deadline passed 3 weeks ago and you haven't even written half a page!" she cried, tears running down her face.

Shigure took another sip and sighed again. "I'll do them later…" when she left, still crying, he picked up the newspaper and flicked through it. "Yep, a perfect day…"

"I think I'll go see Niwa-kun when I finish cleaning the house!" Tohru chirped as she went by with a mop and bucket (she had eaten earlier.). "He might need some help settling in." she stopped as she looked out the window to where his house could just be seen. "Poor Niwa-kun, he must be lonely there…"

"Don't worry Honda-san," Yuki said. "You heard him; he wanted to try living away from home. Otherwise, he'll be at home right now."

"That little shrimp? He doesn't look like he'll survive a night alone in a hotel, let alone in a house!" Kyo grumbled. "What a weakling…"

"Kyo-kun! We've only met him for a day! Shouldn't we wait before judging him?" Tohru asked, shocked.

"Honda-san, for all we know, the stupid cat might be _scared_."

"Like hell I'm not!" shouted Kyo, launching a punch in Yuki's direction. Yuki dodged easily and hit Kyo aside, muttering, "I'm eating. Don't bother me."

Kyo jumped up angrily, but decided to let it pass…for now. He snatched a few rice balls and marched up to the roof, presumably to mope.

Even though this happened just about every morning, Tohru started worrying and dashed up to comfort Kyo. Yuki and Shigure watched her go, and the adult grinned slyly.

"You know…I think Kyo pulls a tantrum just so Tohru will go and talk to him." He said, almost thoughtfully. "Ooooo, Tohru and Kyo…"

Yuki stood up haughtily and headed to his room, ignoring this comment. Shigure's grin grew bigger, and he mentally made a note: Yuki has a crush on Tohru…

Shigure giggled childishly, but seconds later was dragged away by his bawling editor due to his 'mucking around-ness'.

Tohru returned, and blinked as she was greeted with an empty room. Blink, blink. Happy smile. "I'll go see Niwa-kun now!" she announced, and grabbed a food parcel she had prepared. Still smiling, she left the house and headed next door to her destination.

Ahhhh yes. Another typically chaotic morning in the house of Sohma's and one Honda.

* * *

Birds chirped in a merry tune that tended to satisfy even the most arrogant of listeners. They flitted across the trees, as if visiting their many neighbours. Daisuke sighed contently at the beautiful scenery before him. There were many tall trees there, filled with different shades of green leaves. Up on one of the taller ones was Daisuke, nestled comfortably in the crook of a few branches. He felt on top of the world there, where he could see just about everything around him. Well, flying felt even better, but this seemed to be as good as he could get without wings.

Daisuke smiled; his drawing was nearly finished. He was drawing a picture of the Sohma house and was planning to give it to them, among others he planned to draw, as a sort of thankyou gift for their warm welcome and basket.

It wasn't much, but it was the best he could do. Like Tohru could cook and open her heart to others, he could sketch and draw and paint. Just about anything that included art, he could do quite well in.

--Hey…nice picture.--

Daisuke's smile grew broader. "Yup, I plan to give it to the Sohma's as a thank-you gift. It was kind of them to welcome me." Dark had only just woken up again so had missed out Daisuke's ramblings for the past few minutes.

--Yeah well, don't put too much heart and soul in it. There might end up being some sort of magic inside it like the Hikari art works.-- Dark said, half-joking, half-serious.

"I won't. Plus, our family probably can't do that."

--There's always a first time…--

Daisuke laughed at the seriousness in Dark's voice. "Can't they have good magic too?"

--Possibly-- Dark said thoughtfully. -- Except, the Hikari's mainly were, and still are, cold, withdrawn people who wished for a way to express their true emotions. Their coldness is mainly due to Krad, you see, but even so, their emotions were strong. So they poured their hearts out into their art, giving it a life of its own. So in the end, most of the spirits are pretty mean.--

Daisuke blinked at this. "Wow…history lesson and Dark's longest speech in ages…interesting."

--Hey! I resent that!--

Daisuke laughed and finished off his drawing. Nearly…nearly…done!

"There!" he cried out and held out his picture proudly. It was of the Sohma house, without all the holes in the walls of course, in its full splendour. He had also fixed up the porch, and closed the open window in the top floor.

He smiled, and flipped the page of his sketchpad. He would take it in and store it away carefully later. For a minute, he just sat there and allowed his eyes to wonder around his surrounding area, looking for some inspiration.

Absentmindedly, he moved the pencil across the paper, drawing a small picture while he looked around. Getting tired, he finally looked down and was surprised to see he had drawn a **rice ball**, of all things (giggle).

"What the-?"

--Why a rice ball?--

"I dunno, but it can't hurt to continue could it?"

--Suppose not…hey, draw With as well.--

"Fine Dark, fine…"

After the bunny was done, he decided that he liked the animal theme (excluding the rice ball) and added more in. There was a dog, a cat, a horse, a sheep…come to think of it; he was drawing almost every animal he could think of.

He was just finishing the finer details when he heard a small voice call out. Well, it was small from his position up here on the tree.

"Hello? Niwa-kun? Anyone home?" It was Tohru, rapping at his door which he currently was not behind.

"Honda-san?" he asked, poking his head out from underneath the leaves to a position where he could see the brunette.

"Niwa-kun? What are you doing up there…" Tohru asked, confused. Well, it's not everyday you go greet your neighbour and find him up one of the tallest trees there, with NO ladder or anything of that sort.

"Ahhhh…I was doing some sketching." He replied, gathering his things and jumping down, using some of the branches for support. He reached the ground eventually, albeit a bit messily, and smiled at Tohru. "I'm an artist, you see."

"Wow…Niwa-kun that's wonderful!" Tohru said in awe, her eyes sparkling in an amazed way. "Can I see? I mean, it's ok if you don't want me to! I understand; I won't pry if it bothers you!" she panicked, suddenly managing to find reasons to overreact over small things like that.

"No, no. It's ok Honda-san!" Daisuke laughed slightly, and handed her one of his sketchbooks, the one he wasn't using that morning.

Eyes wide with wonder, she opened the black book and looked through the pages, mouth forming a rounder 'O' by the page. When she finished, she handed it back to him and smiled happily.

"Thankyou Niwa-kun! I mean, for letting me see your art book. You're really talented!"

"Uhhh, thanks…" he blushed at the compliment; Dark's comments weren't really helping either.

"But…" her eyes travelled from Daisuke, to the tall tree he had come down from, then back to Daisuke, who was looking at her in confusion (he's really naïve at times, isn't he?). She shook her head and smiled again. "It's nothing!"

"Ok…I don't mean to sound rude, but why did you come here Honda-san?" Daisuke asked, scratching his head.

"Oh!" Tohru exclaimed, suddenly remembering why she was there. "I came here to give you this!" she handed him the food parcel. "And to see if you needed help with anything!" she beamed happily. If that beam was from the sun, everything would be sprouting flowers (even houses) and dancing around with each other. When Tohru beams, you get beamed!

"Thanks…I don't know if I need any help though. Sorry to trouble you though," he apologized. Really, he didn't know what he ought to do anyway.

"That's ok! What are you going to do today Niwa-kun?" she asked sweetly, ignoring the apology. She wasn't one for accepting those; more of the _maker _of apologies for other people.

"I was going to go to the art museum later…but that's it." He told her, rubbing the back of his head.

"Then would you like to come over to Shigure's house when you come back?" she asked excitedly. "I mean, we all disturbed you at your house, so why not come over? You won't get lonely with everyone there either!"

-Don't worry; I got someone permanently stuck in my head…-

--Hey! That's mean! Plus, you know I'll be gone once Riku accepts me.--

-Which will be never…-

To Tohru he said, "Thanks, but are you sure it's ok? I mean, with Shigure-san and everyone…" he trailed off.

"Don't worry!" she smiled again (god, I've written that so many times, how else can I put it?). "I'm sure they won't mind. Just come over when you're ready!"

"Ok, thanks Honda-san! It's really kind of you." He smiled gratefully.

"The Sohma's have done so much for me, so I try to do my best for them and everyone else!" she exclaimed. "Ok then Niwa-kun! See you later!" she waved and headed back over to Shigure's house.

"Bye…" he waved for a minute, then dropped his hand as she disappeared from view (let's say there's lots of trees and things). "Let's go to the art museum now."

--Yeah…then we can see the house of Tohru! She's cute.-- Dark replied, grinning lazily.

"You cheat women Dark…" he muttered as he went and put away his things.

"With!"

"Kyuu!" With With (sorry, couldn't help it) on his shoulder, Daisuke headed out towards _the _town.

* * *

Daisuke approached a tall, shadowy building, half-shaded with trees stretching out in front of it. It loomed over him and gave off a foreboding presence. The tall black gates surrounding it were topped with statuettes of snarling gargoyles, stretching out a stony claw towards intruders.

"Eep…"

--Uh Daisuke?--

"What a scary building…"

--DAISUKE!--

Said boy blinked. He had been staring into space (well, the building really) and was lost in his own thoughts, which had not allowed any mind-spirit things inside so had not heard the seemingly annoyed Dark.

--You took a wrong turn at the crossing before. You were supposed to go _straight_, Daisuke, straight.--

"Oh…"

Daisuke turned and retraced his steps, and eventually found himself at another building, only more…weird.

"Welcome to the child care centre! Please come in!" squealed a thin, short woman with overdone make up. "How can we-whoa!"

"Onee-chan! Candy! I want candy!" wailed a short little toddler who had latched herself onto the woman's skinny legs.

"The front desk…not now Saskia…" she tried to pry the girl off her leg, but failed unsuccessfully. "Please come to the front desk for more-hey!"

Giving a feeble excuse, Daisuke hurried off, back to the wretched crossroads that had misled him TWO times now. TWO times.

--Third time's the charm, they say…-- Dark muttered, although he was seriously having some doubts himself. --And if you see anymore child care centres, run the HELL away from them.--

-Right.-

EVENTUALLY, Daisuke ended up in the right place. In fact, he had not only taken a wrong turn before, but also a wrong turn at the wrong crossing. He gazed up at the museum before him and entered it. IT at least looked normal enough.

"So that's it…"

--Yup. Pretty cool.--

"Yeah…"

He was staring at the artefact Dark was meant to steal a week later. It consisted of a silver chain with a large green stone embedded on it and small diamonds surrounding it. He wasn't so sure what was so dangerous about this object, but hey, it _was _beautiful. In fact, it was the first piece of art you notice when you enter this part of the gallery.

After admiring the necklet for a few minutes, Daisuke checked the security on each art exhibit, then casually strolled through the museum to check the camera's, security system and the like.

-Ok…so security camera one: above main window.-

-Security lasers…positioned at distance of 1 metre apart.-

-And…3 security guards in the whole museum?-

--Guess they don't get robbed much, huh?--

-Suppose so…even though, shouldn't they be more cautious? I mean, not every thief is going to announce himself like you.-

--Because those chickens are too scared to risk people being aware of their plans.-- said Dark smugly, a huge smirk plastered on his face. --I, on the other hand, am an experienced thief who needs no precautions.--

-Sure sure…-

In a few minutes, he decided he had a good enough knowledge, and left the museum, With still 'kyuu'-ing happily on his shoulder.

He dropped by Jim's (remember him?) moving company before he went home. Jim was happy to see him, but regretfully told him that Tommy wasn't there with him today, so Daisuke left. It was a nice office though, small and cosy, even though the background of trucks didn't really do much to improve its splendour.

Daisuke took his time walking back. He might as well get to know the town while he was at it anyway. A nice town, it was, with the few exceptions of, erhem, strange places that you'd rather stay away from.

It was nearly sunset before he left the town. While walking on the trail above the Sohma house, he looked down at the peaceful house. It seemed quiet, and the holes that had been there earlier when he had been sketching were mended, presumably by Tohru.

As his artistic mind set to work on deriving a perfect scenery for sketching, a loud 'poof!' could be heard from inside Daisuke could faintly see strange coloured smoke seeping out from some cracks.

"I'm so sorry Shigure-san!" The door slid opened and Tohru ran outside, her eyes shut tightly. She stood there for a moment, eyes still closed, before turning around and opening them.

"You did it again Tohru…" muttered Kyo, who had just exited the house. "But who can manage to slip on spilt _cooked _(therefore soft) rice, I don't know."

"I'm sorry Kyo-kun!" she cried, and bowed way down. "Is Yuki-kun and Shigure-san ok?"

"Don't worry, that damn rat probably won't even get a pretty eyelash dirtied." He snorted in reply.

**SMASH! **

"Stupid cat, you'll go flying next time." Menaced a…scary but not that kind of scary Yuki, who had appeared from nowhere and knocked Kyo over.

"Honda-san? Yuki? Kyo?" asked Daisuke, having climbed down from the trail to ground level.

"Ahhhh, Niwa-kun? When did you get here?" exclaimed Tohru, looking up to see the redhead walking towards them.

"I was walking past and I heard a…poofing noise and saw some weird smoke, so I came down to see what happened." He explained, stopping beside the Sohma's and Tohru. "What _did _happen?"

The said group of people exchanged panicky glances and Kyo opened his mouth, but was interrupted by yet another poof, and some more…strange smoke from the house.

"There it goes again…what is it?"

"Err…"

"I'm back!" called Shigure in a sing-song voice as he stepped out of the house, straightening his robe. "…Huh? Daisuke-kun?" he asked, noticing the red head.

"What was all that smoke? And that poof noise before…" Daisuke asked. Something was going on here…

--I agree.--

"Ahhhh, you see, that was uh…" Shigure trailed off, apparently unable to think of a good excuse.

"That was what happened when I tried to cook." Yuki jumped in hurriedly. "I'm not good at cooking, cleaning or any sort of housework you see." He explained, seeing Daisuke's questioning glance.

"But what's Honda-san's slipping on rice got do to do with it?" Daisuke asked again, determined to find out the truth.

"That was because Tohru slipped, and fell on Yuki, causing him to knock over an ingredient that didn't match with the other thing he was trying to cook." Shigure put in, now fixing his hair.

--Sounds just like Risa.--

"Yeah…" Daisuke muttered, forgetting to speak in his mind.

"What?"

"Oh…nothing." Daisuke shook his head. "But Harada-san never actually blew anything up in colours and made it go 'poof'…" he murmured thoughtfully.

Before he got a chance to properly think it over, he was interrupted by something else.

"Hey Tohru!" called out a female voice. Broken out of his reverie, Daisuke looked around and saw a blond teen and a…slightly freaky looking black-haired girl, all dressed in black. Her eyes took that of calm, knowing expression.

"Uo-chan!" Tohru replied happily, glad for a distraction. They would have to be more careful sometimes! "Hana-chan! What are you doing here?"

"We came to see the newcomer, after running into your friend Momiji." The one known as Hana replied.

"Yeah, hi to you too orange top, prince, writer guy."

"We have names you know, dammit!" snarled Kyo, immediately switching into offensive mode. "So use them, Yankee!"

Uo ignored him and turned to Daisuke. "So you're the new kid huh?" he nodded and she continued. "Jeez, red hair, red eyes, everyone's getting weird hair and eye colours now." She sighed, examining Daisuke. "Is that natural colour?"

"Uh…yes, it's a family trait." Daisuke replied, fidgeting.

--At least she's not criticizing your shortness.--

-Shut up Dark.- Daisuke replied back shortly.

"Oh! Niwa-kun, these are my friends, Saki Hanajima, or Hana-chan, and Arisa Uotani, or Uo-chan. Uo-chan, Hana-chan, this is Daisuke Niwa-kun!" Tohru introduced them happily, and Uo and Hana nodded at the mention of their names.

"So Daisuke, why are you here?" Uo asked, flicking the hair out of her eyes loftily.

"Uhhh, change of pace, you know…" Daisuke replied tensely.

--That Saki is _creepy_.-- whispered Dark, slightly crept out.

-Dark!-

--What?--

-…nothing.-

"Alright then, want to take the 'newcomer electric waves test'?" Uo asked, grinning ever so slightly.

"Oka-what?" Daisuke was confused now. Electric waves?

The grin became wider. "Alright, read him Hana!" Uo ordered, Daisuke starting to sweat.

Hana closed her eyes and seemed to concentrate. A…antenna-like thing stood up from her head and Daisuke began to tense up. He did _not _appreciate being 'read' when he had no idea what was going on.

-Dark?-

--Yes?--

-Help.-

"I sense strange waves coming from you, Daisuke-kun." Hana replied, opening her eyes eerily. She stared at him intensely for a minute before continuing. "Much like that of the Sohma's, but different. Slightly more…_intense_."

"Oh…is that so?" Daisuke laughed nervously. "I wonder why?"

--Hmmm, the Sohma's have strange waves too, apparently.--

-Yeah, wonder why?-

--We'll see…got a feeling it's got something to do with that incident before.--

Yuki and Shigure exchanged looks, while Tohru looked surprised (and possibly elated, seeing how she was so ecstatic about finding out the zodiac members) and Kyo looked…same as usual. A pointless little run through of their minds…

'_Another one like us?' _Yuki thought, wonderingly.

'_Things _are _getting interesting.' _Shigure thought with a hint of a smile.

'…_wonder if I have enough food for everyone?'_

'_Freaky girl…I'M GOING TO BEAT THAT DAMN RAT!'_

And yes, all the while, Uo, Hana and our little friend Daisuke are standing there, wondering what to make of it all.

Tohru seemed the first to recover, and she smiled happily.

"Please come in! I'll get you some tea!" she ushered them inside and ran off, as if the past event had never even occurred. Daisuke looked around the sparkly house and sighed in homesickness.

"Just like how okaa-san used to keep home…" he muttered, eyeing the shiny floorboards.

"Kyuu?" Daisuke looked at With, who was on his shoulder all this time but had remained quiet, and smiled.

"Thanks With. Can't believe I really have to do this…" he sighed again, walking forward dejectedly. He seated himself at the low table, and watched as Tohru bustled around the kitchen cheerily.

"Can I help you Honda-san?" he asked 'gentlemanly', standing up at the same time.

"Oh no no! I can't have one of the guests help the hostess! Don't worry, I'll be fine!" she told him and hurried off again, making the food.

"So Daisuke, Momiji said you're living alone?" Uo asked, holding a cake that Tohru had handed out in her hand.

"Uh huh…"

"And you're going to our school?"

Nod.

Uo looked him over and grinned. "Black will suit ya. You seem to do well with dark colours."

Daisuke rubbed the back of his neck nervously (actually, I do that a lot too! XD) and looked off.

"Actually…I'll be wearing my old uniform." He fished the crumpled letter from his pocket and showed it to them. "See? They sent it this morning."

Uo read it first and then grinned in surprise.

"Hey, you're in the same class as us!"

"Oh…I am?"

Everyone else read it (everyone else being Hana, Kyo, Yuki, Shigure and Tohru, who had prepared everything) and Shigure smiled playfully.

"So Daisuke-kun. What does your uniform look like?" he asked, head propped up onto his poor arm, which could only _just _hold the heaviness of stupidity Shigure's head contained.

"Uh, you see…it's like…do you have some paper?" he stuttered, finding it difficult to explain. Yuki handed him a white piece of paper, and he sketched out the uniform using his trusty pencil-in-the-pocket he kept with him.

"Ahhhh…how does the girl uniform look?" Shigure asked, grinning mischievously.

Simultaneously, Yuki and Kyo conked him on the head, and Kyo muttered, "And dogs are supposed to be smart. Something went wrong with him."

Shigure faked crying and turned pleadingly to Tohru. "Oh Tohru, see how mean Yuki and Kyo are to their cousin? Please tell them to be kinder!"

Yuki and Kyo grumbled and gave him another punch, which made Shigure 'faint'. Just as Daisuke was putting away his pencil, Shigure sat back up and immediately took the paper.

"Hmmmmm, very fine drawing Daisuke-kun. It'll go well with my oh so wonderful manuscript." He grinned and looked at Daisuke. "You are a very talented artist."

Daisuke blushed and fumbled with his pencil, while Tohru nodded in affirmation.

"Yes! Niwa-kun is very good! He was drawing this morning when I visited him and was kind enough to show me his drawings! They were wonderful to look at!" she beamed at Daisuke, whose face grew so red that it wasn't even be classified as red anymore.

"I see. Daisuke-kun, could you be as kind as to show me your book? I mean, it would mean a lot; such a talented author like yours truly meeting a talented artist such as yourself." He gave a wide smile that screamed 'OHOHOHO I HOPE HE'S BEEN DRAWING HIGH SCHOOL GIRLS!' and Daisuke nodded.

He took With off his shoulder and looked him in the eye.

"Can you do that With? Remember, the one I showed Honda-san this morning."

"Kyuu!" With confirmed, and bounded out the door, transforming into Dark's shape once out of sight. At everyone's astounded glances, Daisuke explained.

"He sort of acts like a dog; understands what we say and all."

"Cool, wish I could get a pet like that!" Uo exclaimed. "What is he anyway? I mean, he looks like a rabbit, but rabbits don't go kyu."

Daisuke gave a half smile and half shrug. "With's been in our family for a long time now, so I'm not very sure. But I don't know any other like him either."

Hana chose that very moment to speak up. "I sense strange waves from that creature too; slightly related to that of Daisuke-kun's."

Silence. Uo chuckled amusedly as she thought that over. "You know how they say; pets are sometimes related to their owners!"

"But that's wonderful!" gasped Tohru. "That means you and With would really understand each other!"

Daisuke laughed slightly. "I guess…"

--So very true…--

"Kyuu!" A white fuzz ball bounded past and landed on the table, a large black book propped up on his ears.

"Good job With! I'll get you some strawberries later." Daisuke smiled, patting With on his head. With purred happily and jumped on his head.

"…did he just _purr_?" Yuki asked, gesturing at With. "Strange bunny…"

"I guess… that was a first, With." With nodded his head happily and curled up to sleep, having done its job. It really preferred being wings better than being in human form.

"Oooooo, you _are _good Daisuke-kun!" Shigure put down the sketchbook and turned it to the page where he had drawn Risa and Riku together as they chatted in the classroom. They both showed happy emotions, smiling and laughing as they had been talking.

Daisuke went red in the face and looked away, not wanting to provoke another transformation.

"Are they twins?" Shigure asked, after examining their faces.

"Y-y-yes. The longer haired one is Risa Harada-san, the younger one, and the other one is Riku-san." He replied, stuttering slightly.

"Hmmmmm… Daisuke-kun, how long have you been with Riku now?" Shigure asked, a sly glint in his eye.

"Uh…nearly three years now. I'm nearly 17, and we got together about a few months or so after my 14th birthday." He replied, blushing intensely, trying his best to ignore the 'ooh's and 'ahh's he got from Uo.

"Ahhhh…" Shigure mused, and then turned to the two boys. "See? Daisuke-kun got a girlfriend when _he _was **14. **And here we have 2 fine young men who can't even get into a firm relationship at 16," Shigure sighed, shaking his head. "And you're nearly 17 too! You're doing a great job Daisuke-kun, especially when you look at them 2." He faked crying, patting Daisuke on the shoulder understandingly.

"Shigure…" (Yuki)

"Damn you…" (Guess who?)

"Eh?" (Tohru)

"Uh…" (Daisuke)

"?" (…and the other 2)

"Well, you must excuse me now. I have some work to do!" Shigure piped up, and slunk away, all the while snickering audibly.

"Damn, there's a shrimp in our class now," grumbled Kyo, head propped up on his hand. "They just keep getting shorter."

Yuki turned over and glared at Kyo. "Where have you been? School talk ended ages ago, although I don't expect someone as stupid as you are would have known that, stupid cat."

"Shut UP! I am NOT stupid!" yelled Kyo, jumping up. "Alright, let's take this outside!"

"You idiot, it'll only be a waste of my time to fight you." Yuki replied, yet also standing up.

"Oh, you scared now? You're too scared 'cause you know I'm going to beat you aren't 'cha?" he leered, following Yuki who was heading out of the room.

"There they go again…" Uo commented indifferently, watching as the two left and Yuki headed towards the kitchen top.

"Like I said, they are like a cat and mouse." Hana stated, putting down her tea.

"Come on! Stop running away you chic-nnnng…" Kyo was cut short abruptly as a…particular green thing was stuck into his mouth.

"Leeks…" he groaned, half fainting on the ground.

"It still works every time." Yuki remarked, towering over the twitching teen.

"Huh?" Daisuke was puzzled. Did Kyo not like leeks?

--Ha, that Yuki's got some good tricks up his sleeve.--

-Uh-huh…-

--Hey, time to go flying!--

Daisuke grimaced at Dark's loud voice. -Not now…-

--Come on!--

-Wait for 30 minutes…-

--15!--

-30!-

--15!--

-25!-

--15!--

-NO!-

--Fine… -- grumbled Dark, crossing his arms defiantly. --We won't go in 15 minutes.--

-Exactly.- Daisuke breathed a sigh of relief. Dark was usually so hard to reason with, so why-?

--We go now.--

-WHAT? No!-

--Now now now now now now now now now now now now now now now now now now now…-- Dark chanted, smirking widely. He knew that once Daisuke got a headache, he would give in.

Daisuke clutched his head and mentally cursed Dark's stubbornness. If this continued, his headache would get even worse.

-Dark…-

--Now now now now now now…--

-Dark!-

-- Now now now now now…--

"Niwa-kun? Are you ok?"

Daisuke opened his eyes and found himself staring into Tohru's large, concerned eyes.

"What?"

"Are you ok? Do you have a headache?" Tohru repeated, face tinged with worry.

"Don't worry, I'll be fine…" Daisuke smiled weakly, and then grimaced again as Dark's voice reached 4 octaves higher at the sound of this. "Shut up Dark…" he muttered quietly.

"No you're not!" Tohru declared determinedly. "You should lie down and rest and we'll get you medicine!"

"No, really…"

"Tohru's right. It won't do for you to be sick on you're first day." Hana put in, Uo and Tohru nodding, agreeing.

"I'll be ok…" Daisuke replied, yet Dark wouldn't oblige. Instead, he just sped up to 100 words per minute, with gusts of up to 120.

-Shut up.-

--No. Now now now now now now now now now now now now.--

-Shut up!-

--No can do!--

"Daisuke, you should listen to Honda-san. You look like you're having a horrible headache."

"Shut up Dark…" he muttered, not listening.

"Niwa-kun?"

"Ahhhh! I just remembered; I'm sorry but I have something important to do at home. Please excuse me, and thankyou!" he said, standing up. he grabbed his sketchbook and rushed out of the house, holding on to the startled With. It was dark outside when he entered the house and hurriedly pulled on some black clothing.

"I hate you Dark." He mumbled furiously as he prepared to change. His red hair grew darker and longer and he grew a slight bit taller, the black clothing fitting more suitably now.

"I know you do Daisuke!" Dark grinned, stretching slightly. He relaxed and stepped on to the roof, gazing out at the stars.

"You shouldn't be grumpy on such a nice night like this Daisuke." He told the shorter boy. When all he received was a grumble, he smirked broadly. "With!"

"Kyuu!" the previously cute white bunny changed, as he turned into Dark's black wings. Dark smirked again, as he took off from the roof.

"Hey look, there's Saki and Arisa."

-I see them Dark…-

"Wanna say hello?"

-NO Dark.-

"Party pooper," he mumbled, swooping low slightly. He grinned as he noticed their startled faces at a large, feathery black thing brushing across their backs in the night.

Hana turned around and frowned.

"Daisuke-kun?"

"Huh? What's up Hana?" Uo asked, also turning.

"Oh nothing…I thought I sensed Daisuke-kun's waves for a minute."

"Well, he's definitely not here. Kinda hard to miss all that red." Uo laughed jokingly. "Anyway, he said he had to do something at home."

"There is something strange about that boy…" Hana replied eerily, hair waving in the imaginary wind.

"Oh Hana, you say that to everyone." Uo told her loftily. "C'mon! My legs are _itching _to sit down."

"Now, that _is _scary…" muttered Dark as he flew higher.

-That's why you gotta be more careful around them.- Daisuke mumbled grumpily, rubbing his still sore astral head.

Dark shrugged his shoulders and flew even higher. They flew in silence for a while before Dark got an idea. "Hey, wanna fly home for a visit?"

-Zzzzzz…-

Dark groaned and hovered in the air. "Awwwwww, come ON! Spoilsport! Well, _I'm _not going back yet!"

Having said so, he flew around the perimeter of the town, stopping every so often to…err, _startle _a few people. He stopped on a tree near the museum and analysed the outside.

"Huh. The defences are too easy…" he snorted in contempt for the museum. "Jeez, they need to get robbed more."

-Zzzzzzz.-

"Damn it…might as well go back."

He flew back, swooping low every now and then to flirt with some pretty girl or shock some policemen.

He sighed happily. Oh the joy of shock and surprise…

"Hey…what's that?"

Dark paused in a tree as he watched a dark figure walk down the path towards their house. The figure paused in front of the door and knocked rapidly a few times, waiting for an answer. He turned around to face yet another figure that was racing up the path after him, panting hard.

"Honda-san, he's not home."

--Yuki? Tohru? What are _they _doing here?--

"B-b-b-but he said he had to do something at home! And we have to give this back!"

Yuki nodded in agreement. "Yes, he should be at home. But he's not. Can we put the mobile inside?"

"No no no!" Tohru cried frantically. "We can't possibly do that! That would be intruding!"

"But he's got an urgent message waiting for him. Remember?" Yuki pressed a button on the mobile and the phone started speaking.

"Dai-kun? Are you there? We need to speak to you urgently about next week. Ring us back quickly, and you should have this on you at _all times_ remember? Dai-kun? Is everything alright over there?" Pause. "Well call back quickly ok? Love you!" Click-beep, beep beep.

--Oh crap.--

"I know, but that still won't be right!" Tohru protested. "I mean, we can't just come in uninvited!"

"But Honda-san," Yuki reasoned calmly. "We can't exactly leave it out here. Someone might take it."

"Well…"

"Wait, I think he's coming. I can hear footsteps."

The two listened in silence for a minute but after 5 minutes, Tohru shook her head.

"Must have been something else. But what can we do?"

"We coul-hey!"

"Yuki-kun? Is something the matter?"

"The phone's missing…it was in my hand just before, but now it's gone!"

"Oh no!" Tohru cried, her hands on her face. "D-d-did you drop it? Or maybe you put it in your pocket! We can't tell Niwa-kun we lost his phone!"

"Calm down Honda-san. Maybe it just slipped out."

The two crouched on the floor and started searching with their hands.

"Found anything Honda-san?"

"N-n-n-n-no. I h-h-h-haven't f-f-found anything y-yet…"

Yuki looked up at the trembling girl. "Is something the matter?"

"N-n-no! I'm a-a-alright!" She claimed and started foraging around again.

"I found something…it's a…feather. A black feather."

"Really? Can I see?"

"Sure Honda-san."

"Wow…it's so big…I wonder what kind of bird it belonged to?"

"Honda-san, we should really get back now. It's getting dark."

"O-o-ok…"

Dark waited in silence as he watched the two head back to their respective home. Quietly, he slipped into the house and slumped on the ground.

"God, Daisuke is _really _clumsy."

He lifted the phone and dialled in the home number. Yes, he was the cause of the missing phone. You should have known by now because it's pretty obvious.

"Hello, Niwa residence. Can I help you?"

"Hey, Emiko."

Silence. Muffled talking. "Dark! How are you doing?" Emiko squealed, clutching the phone to her ear.

"Err, fine…"

"What happened before? No-one picked up!"

"It dropped out of Daisuke's pocket, that's all."

"Oh is that it? Wait…what happened to Daisuke!" she cried, large brown eyes trembling with worry.

"Nothing! He's just asleep. What's so urgent about next week?"

"Oh my god, oh my god!" Emiko gasped, obviously not hearing his question. More muffled talking.

"Dark, there's something you should know about next week's thieving."

"I'm listening, Kosuke." Dark replied, lazily twirling Daisuke's pencil in his hand.

"Well, you see…"

Ten minutes of crooked explaining later…

"You're not serious are you?"

"Yes, we are…so watch out."

"But how?" Dark asked, confused by this turn of events.

"He has his ways…but don't worry, it's only for that night."

Dark grinned cockily. "Who's worried? Only makes it more interesting."

"Don't get too cocky. Is Daisuke fitting in there?"

"Yup, enough. Well, except for the occasional comment about his shortness, he's fine."

"Whew, that's good. Wouldn't be good to get suspicious."

"Yeah, he made friends with the Sohma's who live next door. And there's a cute girl with them by the name of Tohru Honda," Dark said slyly.

"Sohma's? I've heard of them. They're a big family. From what I heard, they're a pretty closed up lot."

Dark shrugged his shoulders uncaringly at this. "No matters to me. Tell Daisuke when he's awake. He likes history."

"Ok…I'll let you rest now. Good bye!"

"See you."

Click.

Dark put down the phone and stared at the ceiling, mulling over this new bit of information. A small smile played on his lips, and gradually stretched out to a broad smirk.

He got up and went outside, still smirking.

"Well, well, this will be interesting. It would be nice to see you again." He stared out across the sky. "Yes…very interesting."

* * *

**Ahhhh, little too long? I didn't mean to drag it out _that _much. I got carried away, I guess…sorry, I didn't get to Daisuke's first day! I'm so sorry! But he meets Uo and Hana; if that's much of a bright side…do you wonder who the "person who is coming" is? Kinda obvious…but shhhhh! You never know what new scheme I might cook up, or weird solution I might come up with! And it might throw you off balance 'cause you won't know what hit you! Hahahaha…or not. But hey, please R&R so I'll feel happy…and I'll update sooner too! XD**


	5. Discovery

**A Change of Sorts**

**Ok, now I should definitely be getting to the thing I promised you in chapter 3 (Promised, and failed to keep that is XD). Thanks to all reviewers of previous chapters, I LOVE YOU ALL!…anyway, R&R!**

**Chapter 5: Discovery**

"Class, please welcome our new student, Daisuke Niwa-san. He has just moved here from Azumano, so I expect you to all welcome and treat him warmly." The teacher instructed. There were a few grumbles at her, but most of the class passed on _some _sort of welcome to Daisuke as he walked to his seat.

The redhead gulped, he did not like starting a new school in a place where everybody already knew each other. The feeling increased with the thought that he was wearing a different uniform to that of everyone else's, not that he had much of a say…

He looked around the unfamiliar classroom, absent-mindedly comparing it to that of his old one. That's where he would have sat, where Riku-san would have sat, Harada-san, Hiwatari-kun…Takeshi…

"Niwa-kun? Are you alright?" Tohru asked, from her seat close by. He shook his head to clear it out and then smiled at Tohru.

"I'm fine Honda-san. Don't worry about me." He sat up straight and tried to pay attention to what the teacher was saying about…whatever she was saying.

"And now I will divide you all into groups of 4 to work on an assignment about Japan. Now, Kyo-san, Arisa-san," insert evil glares full of loath between the two said people, "Saki-san," Panicky look. "And Shiro-san. You will be working on the economical status of Japan."

Many people who are not needed to be known later…

"And Daisuke-san, Yuki-san, Tohru-san and Chiyuki-san, you are to be working on the 'Cultural Revolution' in Japan."

-The irony…-

"Niwa-kun! Yuki-kun! Chiyuki-chan!" Tohru cried excitedly.

"Tohru-chan!" replied Chiyuki, just as happily. "Let's go on the internet to research it, I actually don't know much about it."

"Ok!" Tohru agreed cheerfully, and the two rushed off to the computer, leaving 2 boys standing there wondering when they would be noticed.

"Oh, Yuki-kun, Niwa-kun. Come on!" Tohru called over her shoulder while simultaneously watching Chiyuki type in the search words.

"There's an interesting one. 'Cultural Revolution: The Legend'."

While they were all hunched over the computer, Chiyuki adjusted her glasses and started reading out loud.

--You don't need some stupid computer. You got me!--

-Yes well, sadly, 'me's aren't counted as resources.-

"The Cultural Revolution took place an estimated 300 years ago. In this time, many paintings, sculptures and other numerous artworks where destroyed. There is a legend that many of these destroyed artefacts were 'magical', or possessed by magical spirits, and were created by the powerful Hikari clan. It is said that after the revolution, a mysterious thief known as Kaitou (Phantom Thief) Dark began appearing in famous museums, and any other place that houses particular artworks, and stole many artefacts. He is known for his jet black wings and ability to always succeed in his thefts. He has never been captured. The reason why he steals those particular pieces is unknown, neither is it known where he had appeared from.

"Inspector Saehara of Azumano, the town where Dark regularly strikes, assures us that Dark would soon be captured. How many times he has said that, it is unknown. Inspector Saehara is part of the police force in capturing Dark. The head of the unit for capturing Dark, Commander Hiwatari, refused to comment, saying that 'Dark has magic on his side, and special help.'

"How much of the 'magic' part is true, it is not known. All we know is that Dark does not look like he would be captured any time soon, according to these recordings we have found…"

"They got _recordings_?" Daisuke blurted out, surprised.

"Huh?" Everyone looked up at him, confusion scrawled all over their faces.

"Hey wait…" Chiyuki glanced from the screen, to Daisuke, and back again. "You're from Azumano, right Niwa-kun?"

"Yeah…"

"Wow! So you've seen Dark during one of his thefts! Does he really have black wings? That would be so amazing!" Chiyuki exclaimed, causing much of the class to turn towards them.

"Yes, you could say that, and also yes."

--Those must be security camera recordings…ha, that creepy boy thinks his going to get me _that _easily?--

-Never knew Hiwatari-kun got his name on the internet.-

--Yeah well, he's got magic on his side too. Just a little homicidal, sadistic, blonde type of magic.--

-…-

"Let's watch the recordings!" Tohru suggested, and Chiyuki immediately clicked the first one.

'_Dark's first appearance after a period of 40 years'_

-No…not this one.-

Dark chuckled amusingly, popcorn and comfortable movie seat all ready. --I always wanted to see how you did, and how badly you stuffed up.--

"…and Dark has appeared! Wait, Phantom Thief Dark is only just a young adult; he doesn't look much older than 17 or 18 years old!"

Dark was shown close up on the screen, soaring on his black wings. By now, everyone in the class had gathered to see the source of so much noise and attention. Many girls swooned as they saw Dark flying oh so handsomely.

"He has disappeared! Guards are now racing inside to check all security systems!"

-I didn't disappear; I crashed into a tree…-

-HAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Erhem (snigger snigger) shame on you Daisuke!--

-Hey! I never flew before that, ok?-

Dark was shown concealing himself as the guard to deceive Saehara, then revealing the Sacred Maiden statue that had been hidden by a layer of feathers. The dark figure moved over to the security screen to enter the code.

--Nice trick.--

Satoshi then appeared in the camera's view, and after a slightly blurred minute or two, in which Daisuke breathed a sigh of relief, it showed two Dark's smirking at the confused boy.

--Cue me.--

The recording ended with Dark flying out of the window with the statue in a small bag, and Satoshi standing exhausted on the ledge.

There was silence in the class while everyone stared wonderingly at the screen. Suddenly, there was an outbreak.

"He's so handsome!"

"Yeah, did you see his purple eyes and hair? They look like Prince Yuki's!"

"I thought his eyes were red…"

"But he's still so hot!"

"You think he's taken?"

--Always room for more, ladies.--

"What wicked hairstyle! And that purple is like, ultra cool!"

"You think it's natural?"

"Definitely! Prince Yuki's got competition!"

"But we'll probably never get to actually meet him…"

"Dark…what a cool name!"

"Yeah I know…"

Chiyuki interrupted excitedly, having paused at a full body picture of Dark in the sky. "Look at his wings! Omigod, he really does have real wings!"

Silence…then another outbreak… "Oh yeah! Chiyuki-chan's right, he can fly!"

"I wonder if he'll take me?"

"Maybe he'll take all of us!"

"Cool…"

"Hey, that blue-haired dude was pretty hot too, you know? And he seems more likely to be available…"

"I know…but Dark is way cooler!"

"Niwa-kun, who was that person with the blue hair?" Chiyuki questioned.

"Uh, that's Satoshi Hiwatari. He's the head of the police unit for capturing Dark and was in my class last year."

"Really? He's so young to be the commander…must be some sort of genius!" the brunette girl exclaimed.

"Yeah, actually he graduated from university years ago." He told her. If she was going to be excited, she might as well get excited over all of it.

Kyo narrowed his eyes and scowled at this (he's in the class too, remember?). "Gee, don't see why you have to get all excited about it. It's only _one _guy who can fly."

He was greeted by a semi-freaky horde of evil dagger-glaring girls who had a menacing aura around them. Kyo gulped, and slowly backed away, not exactly wanting to be mauled by previously mentioned girls.

Uo laughed and eyed Kyo slyly. "Oh, are we _jealous_ now, Kyon-kyon?" she elbowed him and laughed harder as he shouted at her.

"Now, now class," the teacher ordered, trying to take control. "Back to your seats. And Yuki-san's group, please continue on with your work with no more recordings."

"Yes ma'am…" grumbled the majority of the class. Daisuke was actually relieved; it saved him from any more awkward questions that could arrive.

* * *

Recess came and Daisuke kinda…wandered around the school area. Many people called out to him, and he was grateful that he wasn't being left alone on purpose, but for now, he wanted to have some time to himself.

Daisuke paused by the large mirror in one of the empty corridors and stared at it. Dark appeared in the mirror and frowned at him, arms crossed across his chest.

"C'mon Daisuke! Don't be so gloomy. It's only for one year, and you don't want to be alone the _whole _year!"

Daisuke didn't reply, but just walked off, Dark running from the mirror back into Daisuke's mind.

--Hey come on!-- he whined, ignoring the gaping teacher, who rubbed his eyes at the mirror then walked off muttering something about too much caffeine.

"I'm not in the mood, I'm too homesick." Daisuke groaned, covering his eyes in a feeble attempt to relax his mind. All that resulted in was a strangely soft object that he bumped into, faltering a bit.

He removed his hand and peeked out at the 'thing' he bumped into.

"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT! WATCH WHERE YOU'RE GOING YOU LITTLE TWIT!" shouted a very _very _enraged Kyo, picking himself up from the ground. He glared at the confused redhead, who scratched his head, thinking that he wasn't going _that _fast enough to knock someone over.

"Uh, sorry…" muttered Daisuke, trying to avoid the angry teen's furious stare. "I was getting a headache and, and…" he trailed off as Kyo seemed to take none of this in, but was instead giving him a puzzled/mixed with anger glance.

"Who were you talking to before?"

"Huh?"

"You were talking to someone about being homesick. Who the hell was it! Or were you going ballistic like Haru has!" Kyo shouted now, losing his temper.

"Uh…that was…um…excuse me!" Daisuke dashed off, not able to find a reason to explain. He tried to ignore Dark's sarcastic comments inside his mind as he struggled to lose Kyo.

--Very smooth Daisuke. Oh _noooooo,_ he didn't suspect a _single _thing, now **did **he?--

"GET BACK HERE YOU LITTLE TWERP!" hollered Kyo, chasing the fleeing redhead.

"Kyo-kun? Niwa-kun?" Tohru was bewildered as the two teens went flying past. Daisuke shouted an apology over his shoulder while Kyo simply sped up.

He skidded to an abrupt halt as a brick wall loomed over him, not looking very inviting to crash into. Daisuke gulped, there was no way he could go backwards, and Kyo was catching up. And the classrooms on either side were locked too. Oh no.

--When you can't go forwards or backwards, what do you do?-- Dark asked teasingly.

"What? What! C'mon!" Daisuke urged, feeling panicky. He didn't want to be interrogated by a raging teen.

Kyo was just rounding a corner at that moment, and Daisuke looked side to side frantically.

--You go up!-- cheered Dark and the redhead looked up to see a few sturdy pipes twisting conveniently low. He grabbed one of them and swung himself up, scrabbling to a small area where the wall reached out a little further than necessary, but was enough to hide him. Unless, that is, if Kyo decided to go closer and look to the left.

Kyo stopped at the wall and panted, looking left and right. The classrooms on either side were empty, and he _swore_ he had seen that shrimp come this way. He grumbled and sat down a bit, moping audibly.

Daisuke tried his best to remain silent, and he could hear a set of footsteps come tapping their way.

"What are _you _doing here?" asked Yuki, noticing the grouching boy.

"Do _you _see any redhead around here?" he raged, gesturing his hand around the corridor.

"Well, no. I can't see Daisuke anywhere, if that's who you're talking about." Yuki replied, wondering about Kyo's lack of insults and challenges. That was due to his grumpiness over losing Daisuke, you see.

"Exactly! And I saw him come here! I even _heard _him **talking** to himself!" Kyo shouted.

"Oh, so you were chasing him?" Yuki raised an eyebrow at the ridiculousness of this whole situation.

"He was talking to himself before and knocked me over! Then he just runs off when I q

uestion him! When I get my hands on that twit, I'll…" he left his threat unfinished and gestured violently with his hand.

"I see…" Yuki turned around, uninterested, and started walking away. "We'll be late for class."

After much more grumbling, Kyo also followed, shooting accusing glances back at the wall. He sped up to be faster than Yuki, who turned back at the wall once Kyo was out of sight.

"You're up there, aren't you Daisuke?"

-How did he-?-

--Strange vibes, Daisuke, strange vibes.--

Yuki had heard a sort of sigh of relief upon Kyo's leave, that's how he figured Daisuke was up there. After waiting in a bit of silence, he noticed a tuft of red hair peek out, followed by a pair of wary crimson orbs. As soon as they noticed him still standing there, they ducked back in quickly, hoping he had not seen him, which was nearly impossible.

"You're going to be late for class, Daisuke," Yuki told the hiding boy. Daisuke reluctantly peeked out to make sure that Kyo was no longer there, then sighed and hopped down.

Silently, Yuki turned and walked off, Daisuke trailing behind. Dark was being _very _helpful.

--Smart, Daisuke, smart. Next time when I tell you to stay there longer, you stay there longer.--

-Yes, Dark. I get it.-

--And also…--

The two passed the mirror again, and Daisuke glanced at it briefly as they walked. Dark flashed in the glass momentarily, leaning on some sort of countertop while lecturing Daisuke, and then the image disappeared.

Daisuke couldn't help but smother a grin at how strange Dark looked when he was (or acting) serious. Obviously he didn't smother it well enough, because Yuki seemed to notice a change in Daisuke. He turned around questioningly, but Daisuke just shook his head and hurried on.

"_I sense strange waves coming from you, Daisuke-kun. Much like that of the Sohma's but more…_intense."

'How much more intense, I wonder, and why.' Yuki thought, watching the redhead's disappearing figure.

Daisuke turned around and smiled at Yuki. "Come on! We don't want to be late!"

Yuki nodded, and walked faster, still pondering. 'I wonder…'

* * *

"So Niwa-kun, how did you find your first day at school?" Tohru asked cheerfully, running up to catch up to Daisuke as he walked out.

"It was great, Honda-san!" he told her, equally cheery, and looked back over his shoulder. "Where are Yuki and Kyo?"

"Oh? Yuki-kun has a student council meeting, and Kyo-kun…well he, Uo-chan, Hana-chan and some other people are playing Rich Man, Poor Man!" She laughed at this, finding it amusing. "Uo-chan and Kyo-kun are very competitive."

"Oh is that so? Why aren't you staying to play with them, Honda-san?" Daisuke asked politely.

"I have work early today! So I have to go over to work straight away!" she replied, patting her bag where her uniform lay. "It's earlier than usual, but I also finish earlier too! I finish at 6pm today."

"Would you like me to walk you to work?" he asked graciously.

"B-b-but I can't bother you when you probably have many other important things to do Niwa-kun! I can go myself, so you really don't need to…" she fretted, shaking her head determinedly.

Daisuke laughed and continued walking. "It's no problem Honda-san. I really don't have any important things to do."

"W-w-well, if you're sure…"

They walked in silence before Tohru finally remembered something important.

"Oh! Niwa-kun, last night, you dropped your phone when you left, and someone called to leave a message for you!" she told him. "A-a-and, Yuki-kun and I went over to give it back, but you weren't home! A-a-a-and the phone disappeared and we couldn't find it!" streams of tears ran down her face as she bowed repeatedly and apologetically. "I'm so sorry!"

"Huh?" Daisuke reached into his back pocket for his phone, and found it there, nestled snugly as usual. He fished it out, as well as a tissue, and showed it to her.

"Here Honda-san." The transferring of the tissue. "I have the phone right here! I found it outside this morning." He lied, prodding Dark mentally.

--Zzzzzzzzzz… the person you are calling is asleep right now so please leave a message after the zzzzz. ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ!--

"Oh…OH!" Tohru's eyes widened in surprise at the sight of the mobile phone, alive and well, dangling before her eyes. "But why didn't we find it then?"

"I'm not sure Honda-san. Maybe it was too dark?" he feigned surprise. -Dark wake up!-

--Click! Thankyou for calling!--

-I should have never got you an answering machine…-

"Maybe…" Tohru mumbled doubtfully. "Were you sleeping last night? No-one seemed to be home when we came. Did you get your job done?"

"Uh…yeah, I was and I did." He lied, not really knowing what happened last night because he really _was_ asleep.

-Dark, what happened?-

--Zzzzzzzzzzzz…sorry, but we only accept calls from the same person once a day. Please call tomorrow!--

-…how did you do that?-

"Well, we didn't find your mobile, but we found this!" Tohru was cheerful again, as she pulled out a large black feather proudly. "I wonder what bird it comes from…" she mused aloud thoughtfully.

Daisuke gasped and took the feather for a closer look. Sure enough, it was Dark's.

"What was he doing there?" he mumbled, handing the feather back. Tohru glanced at her watch, and gave a little jump in shock.

"Oh no! I'm going to be late!" she yelped, and started walking thrice as fast. Daisuke too sped up and within minutes, they had reached their destination.

"Thankyou Niwa-kun!" she smiled as she went in. "It was very kind of you!"

"No problem." He smiled and returned her goodbye wave.

Daisuke turned around towards home, and nearly ran smack bang into Momiji.

"I'm sorry! Huh? Dai-kun!" Momiji squealed with joy as he noticed the redhead, and immediately started bouncing around in excited circles. Daisuke noticed Haru standing closely behind, looking bored.

"Momiji, Haru, hi." He greeted them both and Momiji smiled his cheeky smile, bouncing around once more. "I didn't see you in school today!"

"Well, we didn't have school on the first day, so yeah." Haru explained, looking around the street.

"Dai-kun, why are you here?" Momiji asked happily, stopping in front of the said boy.

"I was walking Honda-san to work. Why are you here?"

"My papa owns this building here!" he smiled, gesturing at the tall building.

Daisuke's eyes widened in surprise at this. "So…your father is a very important person then?"

Momiji grinned and nodded. "The Sohma's own a lot of things! The Sohma estate is like one big town!"

"Wow…"

"Yup!"

Pause. Beep boop beep. Beep boop beep. "Errrr…I think that's my phone."

Click- "Hello?"

(The following bit has been taken off, for the safety of your ears. We are sorry for any inconvenience caused.)

"----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------!"

Daisuke jerked the phone away from his ear and winced, as well as Momiji, Haru, and all people in the surrounding area for about…5 kilometres or so.

"Takeshi!" he spoke into the phone furiously. It was amazing how ONE single word from ONE particular person, and a common word it was indeed, could anger Daisuke like so.

"_Gee, Daisuke. I was just saying hi. WHAT'S UP!"_

Daisuke gave Momiji and Haru apologetic glances and turned back to the phone.

"Takeshi, I'm in public now! Can you not speak so loud?"

"_Nah, too fun. How's life on the move, eh? Fun?"_

"Uh…yeah. How's Riku-san and Harada-san?" Daisuke asked quickly.

"_Don't worry, Riku only cries half the time at school now. And Risa keeps smiling like she knows something…BUT NO-ONE IS HELPING ME WITH WORK AS MUCH AS YOU DID!" _he wailed pitifully. Too bad no one felt like showing pity to him at the moment.

"Right…" Daisuke decided to put the phone on loudspeaker so as not to damage his ears too much.

"_Oh, and one other thing."_

"Yeah?"

"_Dark hasn't been appearing lately. You know how he normally steals nightly? Well, there's been no sign of him for a while now."_

"Yeah…I wonder why?" Daisuke was beginning to get uneasy.

"_This is gonna be bad for my reporting career. I mean, Dark is like the top news in our town! WE'RE ALL GOING TO DIE!"_

Noticing the queer looks he was now receiving, Daisuke quickly made a lame excuse and got off the phone. Takeshi was getting too panicky for his own good…

"Ehehehe, sorry about that," he told Momiji and Haru sheepishly. "That's was my friend, Takeshi Saehara, and he gets very loud sometimes."

"…he sounds like fun!" beamed Momiji. "Who's D-" A loud call from within the building interrupted him, and Momiji turned around.

"Sorry, Dai-kun, but papa is calling us. Bye!" Momiji waved happily and skipped inside the building, Haru following behind.

"Bye!" Daisuke waved back. It seemed he was saying goodbye a lot tonight…

* * *

"So, Dark. What happened last night?" Daisuke glanced into his mirror while doing his homework.

"Oh that?" Dark faked a loud yawn, and grinned lazily. "Simple. You dropped the phone, Emiko called, Yuki and Tohru came with phone, I stole it, they left, I called Emiko, Emiko hyperventilates, Kosuke talks to me about regular training so as not to fumble, gives family history of Sohma's, and one other thing."

"Simple?" Daisuke's head spun for a moment as he tried to work out Dark's list.

"Yup. And about that other thing…"

Dark's version of Kosuke's crooked explanation later…

"Wow…really?"

"Yup."

Nobody spoke as Daisuke try to wrap his mind around this new bit of information. Everything seemed so surreal as it is…

"Hey Daisuke,"

"Yeah?"

"You know how it's nearly your birthday?"

"Yeah…" Daisuke replied warily.

"You're getting visitors."

"…Who?"

Dark grinned, remaining annoyingly silent. Only after minutes of prodding, pleading, and bribing did Daisuke hear what he had to say.

"Family, of course!"

"…oh." He was slightly disappointed by this. He had been hoping for someone like-

"Riku?"

"Dark!" Daisuke blushed, immediately pretending to be doing his homework once more.

"Can't, 'cause they all think you're travelling, remember?" Dark teased, waving little pictures of chibi Daisuke and Riku together "Nananananana…"

Daisuke flipped the mirror around so that it faced the wall instead of him. He felt a blaze of satisfaction when he heard Dark's whining, threats, and attempts at reverse psychology. He happily continued with his work whilst ignoring the irritated Thief.

"All right, all right. I'll tell you the next bit." Dark pouted, a stubborn look crossing his face.

Daisuke immediately flipped the mirror back excitedly. "There's a next bit?"

"Yeah…there's been a change of plans."

"Huh?"

"You're first job is today."

"WHAT?" Daisuke shouted, jumping up indignantly. "I can't do that, the notice isn't even sent yet! See! See…" he looked around for it, and then noticed With sitting on the table looking suspiciously happy.

"With…tell me you didn't…"

"Kyuu!" he replied happily, glad to be able to turn into the wings again.

"Fine…" muttered Daisuke resentfully. "Tell me when we leave…"

"Oh yeah. There's been another change of plans. We have to steal it at 7:30pm."

"Oh no!" Daisuke cried, and jumped up to get changed. "There's only 30 minutes left!" Clothes, books and bunnies flew everywhere in his desperate attempt to ready himself. So did any other object that happened to get in his way…

Dark watched this all amusingly from the mirror. Telling Daisuke bad news was _fun_. "Hey Daisuke, you might not want to wear that one…"

"Huh?" Daisuke glanced down at this outfit and noticed it was the one that Momiji had found the other day. "Too late! We got to go now!"

"Gee, Daisuke. We still got half an hour. Chill, mate."

"Well, anytime with you is no time!"

"Meanie…"

He pulled out Riku's picture and closed his eyes to transform. Dark looked at himself critically and 'tut'-ted disappointedly. "You gotta add more _flare _Daisuke. Such as this…" a small change. "And this…" bigger change. "_And _this." Complete change. "There you go!"

Daisuke groaned; he hated when Dark lectured him about his 'fashion sense'.

-Just hurry up and go already-

"Fine, fine…touchy…" he muttered and called to With. He grinned at a prospect of yet another theft. "Let's go!"

* * *

"_Today, at the local museum, a notice was found attached to the famous art piece, the Khaydrin Necklet. It is signed by 'Dark Mousy', a famous Phantom Thief, according to the notice. He has announced that he will be stealing the Necklet tonight at 7:30pm in half an hour's time. Whether this is a hoax, or authentic, it is not known. Nevertheless, security has definitely been tightened. We will keep you updated throughout the night."_

"Wow…" breathed Tohru (she finished work already), Kagura and Kisa. "He really is coming!" squealed Kagura, hugging her beloved Kyo into oblivion.

The latter two had come over to watch the theft together once they heard of the news. Hiro had tagged along too, of course going anywhere that Kisa went. None of them had really heard of Dark before, but with what they heard about him from Tohru, they were pretty excited (except for Hiro of course).

"Isn't it amazing? We find out about Dark at school today, then find out he is appearing in our town!" Tohru exclaimed, clasping her hands together.

"Rather 'coincidental', you mean," Shigure put in, flipping through the paper. "Think about it, Daisuke-kun comes into town, and then a new Dark starts appearing. And they both come from Azumano." He smiled in a way that made you think, glasses glinting in the light. "What do you think, Yuki-kun?"

"I don't know. It _does _seem rather suspicious…but I can't say he seems the type either." He replied thoughtfully, leaning against the door while watching the television at the same time. "It is probably a coincidence."

"Right Yuki-kun…what with the zodiac curse is all, I think you should know better than to judge a person on their looks," Shigure told him somewhat scornfully. "And that goes the same for you Kyo-kun," he added to the brooding teen.

"_We have an update for you viewers out there! Commander Hiwatari, boy genius and head of the police force for capturing Dark unit, has come from Azumano, where Dark normally appears, to assist the force. Commander Hiwatari, what are your thoughts on Dark?"_

The microphone and camera swung towards a calm, cold blue-haired boy who had only just arrived. He gave a short statement before turning off and away from the camera.

"_I'm only here tonight because Dark is in unfamiliar territory. It will be slightly easier, and it would be a shame for the clueless police to ruin this chance."_

"_And a, err, pleasant comment from Commander Hiwatari. We will be back at 7:30pm."_

"Mister Policeman is mean, big sissy," whispered Kisa, clutching on to a red-faced Hiro and a happy Tohru.

"I'm sure he has his reasons, Kisa-san," she told her warmly, although she was rather put off with his cold attitude. She must find him one day to soften him up.

Hiro snorted and stormed outside, irritated for no good reason, and Kisa hurriedly went after him, after a few hesitant glances at the encouraging Tohru. Shigure watched them amusingly before giving one of his small smiles.

"Hmm, Kisa-chan really is beginning to act like you, Tohru. You know, Kyo-kun storming off and you going up to calm him down…"

"SHUT UP!" hissed Kyo, waving his fist at the author (not me, Shigure) threateningly. He couldn't really do much, what with Kagura lovingly sitting on him and all…

"You know, we still have some time. Since you girls are all lovey-dovey over this Dark, why don't we go down to the museum for a first-hand view, eh?" Shigure offered, ever so fatherly. He put down his glasses and stood up to walk over to the door. "It's such a pleasant night too, so why waste it?"

"R-r-really Shigure-san?" asked Tohru excitedly. He smiled warmly at her, than held out a hand to her. "My pleasure."

"I'll go get Kisa and Hiro!" she exclaimed, and with Shigure's help jumped up to run outside.

"Kisa-san! Hiro-san!" she called, searching among the dark shadows for the ones she was looking for. "Eh?"

"Hiro-chan, I saw something move there," Kisa whimpered, pointing towards a dark figure in the shadows.

"It's probably just a cat. Come on, I'll show you." He told her, marching towards it. Kisa followed reluctantly behind, hiding her small face behind her hands.

"There! Gotcha you stupid ca- what the?" Hiro stopped and stared at the little creature in his hand. "What on earth are _you_?"

"Hiro-chan? W-w-what is it?" Kisa approached them cautiously and peered down at the white furball. The 'furball' unrolled itself and stared at them with large red eyes.

"Kyuu?"

"Oh, it's so cute!" Kisa reached out for the bunny and cuddled it in her lap. "Are you lost Mister Bunny?"

"Kyuu?" With cocked his head cutely to one side as he blinked at the small girl.

"Hiro-chan…isn't it cute?"

"Yeah…" Hiro scowled down at the creature that was currently the centre of Kisa's attention. "Stupid thing…" he muttered under his breath.

"I wonder who it belongs to…"

"WITH! Where are you?" A loud, unfamiliar shout rang out from next door, and With's ears immediately perked up. Giving a last, happy 'kyuu', the bunny bounded off towards the voice.

"Bye-bye Mr Bunny," Kisa waved at the disappearing white ball.

"Kisa-san! Hiro-san!" Tohru ran up to them happily. "There you are!"

"Sissy, Hiro-chan found a little white bunny with red eyes. It was really cute," Kisa smiled contently at her beloved sissy while clutching on to Hiro's hand.

"Oh! That must have been With! He belongs to Daisuke Niwa-kun next door," she smiled back and looked around. "Where did it go?"

"Someone called him back, sissy."

"That's ok! By the way, we're going to the museum to see Dark-san. You're both going to come right?" Tohru beamed, not noticing the scowl Hiro was giving her.

"Mmm-hmmm!" Kisa nodded happily.

"Ok! Let's go now!" Tohru replied excitedly. "Yuki-kun! Kyo-kun! Kagura-chan! Shigure-san!"

"We're coming Tohru!" Shigure replied, dragging a protesting Kyo out of the door with the 'help' of Kagura.

"Sissy! Sissy! Hiro-chan, look! There's a big black bird up there!" Kisa pointed up at the sky where a dark figure could just be seen flying across the black sky.

Shigure peered at the black figure carefully then shook his head. "I don't think it's a bird, Kisa-chan. It's too big."

"Oh…then what is it, Grandpa Shigure?"

"I'm not sure…but never mind that! Let's go go go!" Shigure punched his fist in the air childishly and started marching, Kisa and Hiro not far behind.

"I swear, one day…" mumbled Yuki.

"…he will pay for all this." Finished Kyo. Tohru looked between them in panic.

"Ummm, maybe we should go?" Tohru suggested hopefully. She didn't really want a fight to break out…

"Ok Honda-san. Let's go." Yuki smiled at her reassuringly, and Kyo gave a short nod in reply.

"Come on!" Tohru grabbed both of their hands and led them off at a run, so that they had no choice but to follow her. Yuki smiled; it was nice when Tohru was like this. Trying to cheer up everyone around her that seemed a little down…that was one of her many virtues he enjoyed.

* * *

"With, where were you? I thought you were inside while Daisuke was stressing out!" Dark asked the little bunny who was sitting oh so cutely.

"Kyuu?"

"Never mind…" Dark sighed. "Anyway, let's go!"

"Kyuu!" In a flurry of black feathers, With transformed and became the wings of Dark. He flexed experimentally before taking off relaxedly. "Been awhile since my last theft, eh?"

-Yeah…-

"Hey, if it isn't the Sohma group going to see my amazing theft. Ah, 3 other people there too!"

-Oh yeah… they must be Sohma's too.-

"Most likely." Dark shrugged; he really wasn't that interested. "Time to steal some art, not to watch family reunions!"

He gazed out at the sky before him, and grinned to himself. This town wouldn't know what hit them…

* * *

**Yay, I got another chapter up in the middle of all this homework I'm supposed to be doing…XD. Hope you enjoyed, and I got to the bits I promised you after all! The rest of the theft will be in the next chapter, which may or may not be awhile because:**

**Lots of homework**

**Holidays soon, but see previous explanation**

**Want to update other stories because I neglected them**

**The story of my life…XD. See you at the next update!**


	6. Not What It Seems

**A Change of Sorts**

**Hi I'm back! I was going to leave this story for awhile due to other stories, but I really can't help myself. This one has got the most exciting plot so far! Ok, now we're up to Dark's theft! Enjoy everyone!**

**Chapter 6: Not What it Seems…**

"Wow…" Tohru breathed, looking out at the scene before her at the museum. She tried to spot the museum over the heads of the TV crew but failed. (Those TV people are too tall these days!) She blinked a couple of times then turned to the rest of the group.

"I wonder why there are only a few people here."

(A/N: Sorry, couldn't resist!)

"Hmm…" Shigure mused, rubbing the back of his head. "Shame, I thought there would be more people…" _'Awww, no high school girls here…'_

"Most people must believe it's a hoax…" Yuki added, stopping to look around the near deserted museum, save the TV crew, numerous policemen and also…a, uh…certain…few_…people._

"Hey Tohru!" Uo looked over to them and waved, motioning for them to come closer.

"Uo-chan! Hana-chan! Momiji-kun!" Tohru waved back and hurried over quickly.

Uo looked at Hana and grinned. "See, _told _you she would come." Hana sighed and looked away, ignoring Uo.

"Why am I here?" grumbled Kyo, breaking away from Kagura. A punch, a kick, and a strangle and a half later, he decided to raise the white flag.

"I hate you…"

A sudden shriek floated out over the air to the surprise of the group. They turned quickly, to see a blue haired person run into the museum quickly, pushing his way past the shocked TV crew standing there.

"Oh! That must be Hiwatari-san!" Tohru exclaimed, watching him. During this slight commotion, a black figure landed on the roof of the museum, quietly entering the building. Shigure noticed this (he's a dog, remember?) and pointed it out to the others, who immediately looked that way.

"Is that Dark-san?" Kisa whispered, inching closer to Hiro and Tohru.

"Most likely. But look over there." Shigure replied quietly, pointing over to a nearby tree. A separate black figure could be seen jumping from the roof on to the topmost branch, then disappearing from view. "He can't be in two places at once, can he?"

Before anyone could reply, a white bunny appeared, jumping down on the ground.

"Hey…isn't that With?" Yuki asked, pointing at the bunny. But nobody was really listening because they were all watching the museum, for the alarms had apparently just suddenly turned off.

Momiji headed towards it quietly, so nobody noticed him. He followed With as it bounded towards the museum and disappeared around the corner. Momiji peeked around, only to see and open doorway. Not noticing the police, Momiji slipped straight in, peering wonderingly at the dimly lit interior. (They must have poor security, huh?)

"Momiji!" Yuki called from outside. Sighing as he noticed that he was gone, he went towards the door where he last saw him. He hesitated there, noticing the guards at the front.

An explosion sounded from inside and he hurried in.

--------------------------------

"Alright With, do your job!" Dark set down on the roof, his wings turning into a replica of himself. With jumped off, ready to go mess with the security cameras a bit. Dark grinned; it was _way _fun stealing from under experienced police.

He noted Shigure pointing towards With's direction, but ignored it, instead quietly slipping inside the building. Inside, all was dark, and he quickly set to work disarming the alarm system. If he had calculated correctly, which he probably did, the control board should be right around…here. Of course, he could have used magic, but then again, where's the fun in that?

Dark quickly switched off the alarm system, pausing as he heard the surprised cries from outside. His finger hovered over the lights switch, waiting for effect. He grinned; click.

--Hear that Daisuke?--

-What?-

--The sound of satisfaction.--

-…?-

--Silence-- Dark grinned, looking around the dark room. He could easily see, that being his name, of course, and headed over to the desired room. He could hear footsteps pounding through the museum no doubt to check the alarm system and possibly the artefact as well.

Dark approached the gallery housing the artefact, the room shining slightly from the glow of the Necklet. The alarm system for that was still turned on, as well as that of every other artefact in the museum. The alarms only covered the general area of the museum.

Dark smirked, easily releasing the alarms on the Necklet. --5…4…3…2…1.-- he counted.

-?-

"Hello…Dark."

--See?--

-…-

"Well hello, Commander. What a pleasant surprise." Dark answered, turning to face the young teen.

Satoshi narrowed his eyes as he looked past Dark at the Necklet. "Wondering if your family's creation is still there?"

Dark looked off loftily, as if he wasn't interested. "I don't know why you even try to protect it," he remarked. "After all, we both know how dangerous it is."

"Because…" Satoshi replied coldly, "It belongs to us."

Dark looked at Satoshi from the corner of his eyes. "Yes, but you're not exactly too proud to be part of Hikari's, hm? Is that you're only reason?"

-Dark…what are you trying to get at?-

--His nerve.--

-…-

"Anyway, I've got places to go, things to do, girls to flirt with…so bye, Commander." Dark picked up the necklet and clasped it onto his neck.

He turned back to Satoshi as he prepared to leave. "One last thing. I probably won't be seeing you again, what with Krad and all…" he paused dramatically, and also to notice the effect that last bit had. "Krad _really _should consider a change of uniform. Ta!" Dark smirked, taking off through the halls of the museum. It was _really _fun toying with people.

-For a minute there, I thought you were serious…- Daisuke sighed, shaking his head in disappointment.

"Yeah, yeah…what the?" Dark skidded to a stop as he rounded a corner. He could see a certain figure in white ahead of him, arms crossed in a calm way.

"Nice to see you again, Dark." A smooth voice was heard, seemingly echoing around him. The person did not look up from his position leaning against the wall.

Dark smirked, not letting his surprise show. "Ahhh, I was wondering when you would show up, Krad."

"You think I need a change of uniform?" Krad asked sarcastically, finally looking at him with those brilliant gold orbs.

"Yeah, well," Dark shrugged while maintaining steady eye contact with the white angel. "You know, stick with the times."

Krad rolled his eyes as he drew out a white feather. "Really, and people think _you're _my other half? What is the world coming to?"

Dark grinned in an annoying way. "A horrible end at the hands of the oh so terrible Krad."

"Something doesn't sound right. They must have mixed up the plot with that of another one," Krad commented. "We'll launch a complaint after the shooting."

"Good idea. It's too whacked out! I mean, _look _at these…oops! Pst! Hey! Stick with the script!"

Somewhere in Dark's mind, Daisuke falls off his seat.

"Oh right. Er-hem…You better give back that Necklet, Dark! Or-I can't do it right now! I got a headache!" Krad complained. He walks off the set oblivious to the gaping producers.

"Hey I want a break too!" Dark whines, running off as well. Out from backstage appears Daisuke, Yuki, Momiji…

**Scene 2 act 4! Take 2! And…action!**

Krad rolled his eyes as he drew out a white feather. "Really, and people think _you're _my other half? What is the world coming to?"

Dark grinned in an annoying way. "A horrible end at the hands of the oh so terrible Krad."

Krad narrowed his eyes and muttered something under his breath.

"Cat got your tongue?" Dark teased, holding up a few adorable kitties he plucked from nowhere.

"No…" Krad smirked. "But I'll watch out if I were you." He raised the feather and threw at Dark's feet like a dart.

Dark jumped back, shocked, as the glowing feather exploded. (Awww…it looked so _innocent _just seconds ago…) "Damn you Krad!"

"Meow!" Wailed an innocent kitty, wandering through the smoke. Dark paused to look at it, then threw it out of the way (for the safety of the kitten, ok?).

He pushed his way through the smoke, With appearing out of nowhere as his wings. He lunged towards the window, crashing into Krad on the way, and they broke outside in a flurry of falling glass and feathers.

"Who's laughing now?" Krad sneered, an energy ball forming in his hand. Dark narrowed his eyes and said nothing. He was _really _pissed now. Just because Krad didn't care what happened to Satoshi, _he _could use all the magic he wanted…

-Dark!-

Dark sighed. He couldn't _ever _use magic without the Niwa's consent. It made him feel too guilty for harming them in that way.

-Just use it…- Daisuke muttered, hugging himself into a ball in anticipation. -It doesn't matter anyway…-

--You sure?-- Dark asked seriously. (See? _See?_) --There's always a price to pay for magic, you know that.--

-Go ahead.-

--Fine-- Dark replied, masking his excitement. There was a thrill about using magic that could not be replaced.

He took out a feather which glowed in anticipation. "You're on, Krad," he whispered, before throwing the feather to meet the oncoming energy ball. Another explosion erupted and flecks of magic fluttered down around them.

Suddenly, Krad hurled himself at Dark and rammed into him violently. Startled, Dark raised his wings to cover himself and they did a pretty good job, repelling Krad effectively. The bad thing was that the two angels were slammed into the ground at the back of the museum, breaking tree branches on the way like twigs.

Dark gritted his teeth as he struggled to recover from the blow. He _was _the one that was rammed into the ground first. He sat up unsteadily, squinting from all the dust from the ground. A flash of yellow caught his eye. Amethyst orbs widened in shock as he noticed a bruised figure lying near them.

--Who-?--

--------------------

Momiji wandered around the museum, disappointed that he had lost the bunny. Come to think of it, why was it even here? He shrugged, instead concentrating on getting out from this dark place.

Momiji shivered; it was really quite cold, and he didn't like the paintings on the walls. Why did some artists have to have such scary imaginations? Speaking of which, what was that bang from before?

The boy turned to the right, noticing a tall figure approach him. He couldn't make out who he was, and immediately cowered as a thought hit him. What if it was a security guard, coming to tell him off for being here? Then he would make papa worried all over again.

He didn't want that to happen. Quickly, he turned and ran, back the way he came from (its funny how no one ever seems to think of going backwards to get out of the place that they were lost in), nearly tripping over the ground in his haste.

Momiji's brown eyes lit up as they spotted the doorway just ahead of him. A few more steps and he would be safe…

He nearly cried with joy as he tumbled out onto the soft grass outside. He hugged himself happily, glad that he was not caught. Momiji opened his eyes and looked upwards, then quickly shut them at the sight he saw. He scrambled to his feet and tried to run for it, but it was too late.

Two winged figures crashed down, the dust raised nearly blinding him. In his rush, he crashed into one of them and was repelled by something invisible. Tears came to his eyes as he lay, sore and hurt, on the ground a few metres away.

"Mama…" Momiji sobbed and closed his eyes, trying to ease the pain.

---------------------------

"Momiji!" Yuki yelled, running outside. He paused because of the dirt that was unceremoniously blinding him. Yuki coughed a couple of times; this would _not _be good for his asthma.

He cautiously walked out, taking small steps so as not to trip over anything. After a few minutes, his feet scuffed against a soft figure and he immediately crouched down, feeling with his hands.

"Momiji!" Yuki looked at the young boy, who was lying bruised and battered on the ground. It was hard to see because it was more shaded in the area the young boy was lying in. "Are you ok? Why are you so bruised?"

'He's unconscious…' Yuki thought, checking Momiji's wounds. They didn't seem that serious, but they didn't look like they came from a simple fall either…

A groan caught Yuki's attention and he looked up to see the Thief sitting up on the ground. He shook his head a few times, clutching it as if he had a headache.

"You're gonna pay for that Krad…" Yuki heard Dark mutter as he stood up. He shrank further back into the shadows so as not to be noticed. Lucky for him Dark was so injured; otherwise he would have been spotted quickly.

'Krad? Isn't that the Satoshi Hiwatari person?' Yuki wondered as he shifted his feet while crouching on the ground. Sure enough, the blue-haired boy was also sitting up, nursing several wounds on his body.

Hearing a slight scuffle, Dark looked in Yuki's direction sharply, then frowned and rubbed his eyes. "I can't see anything properly…" he muttered, shaking his head again.

Satoshi stood up as well, giving Dark a hard glare. "Next time Dark." He said coolly, then walking off. Yuki watched him in surprise; was he giving up that easily? He could still get Dark at that moment…

Dark smirked at the boy's departure, and then looked around for the yellow flash he had seen before. "Hmmm…I was sure I saw Momiji here before…" Dark mumbled, scratching his head. He was silent for a moment, his eyes not focusing as if his mind was elsewhere. "Oh yeah…you're right. Maybe he left…"

Right, was he _talking_ to himself? Yuki was surprised. That's something you don't expect from a Phantom Thief. And how did he know Momiji's name?

"Hmmm…the Sohma's are coming…might as well leave…" Dark mused, hearing the footsteps of curious Sohma's. He looked around once more before summoning his wings.

"With!"

Yuki gasped in surprise; that bunny just…_shape shifted._ He couldn't think of any other word to describe it, but Daisuke's bunny was more than just cute eyes and strawberries…

Dark looked around suspiciously once more, having heard the gasp. He was about to leave when Uo's voice called out.

"Who's that?"

Dark turned around, sighing as he noticed the group heading towards them. Hana looked at him and then narrowed her eyes.

"You're waves are very similar to Daisuke-kun's, Dark-san…" she intoned, watching him. (Insert sweatdrop on Dark's head…) Dark smirked as he rubbed his eyes again.

"Is that so? You know, you shouldn't speak to someone like that when they can't even see you properly."

"Yuki-kun!" Tohru cried, pushing past the others to get to him. "Are you al-oh!" her eyes widened as she noticed a bruised Momiji lying next to him.

"Momiji-kun!" She knelt down beside the two, feeling Momiji's wounds. She stood up determinedly. "We've got to get Hatori-san now!"

Dark looked over to them with minor interest. "Oh, so there _was _someone there…" He shook his head again. "Ugh…he is gonna _so _pay for this…"

Shigure looked at Dark sceptically. His eyes lingered on the wings attached to his back, then at the Necklet on his neck.

"What happened before?" he asked seriously, looking over to the bruised Momiji. Dark put on a defensive look, as if he was personally insulted.

"What? Me and Krad got into a fight, that's all! I don't even know _how _Momiji got involved with this!"

"How do you know Momiji's name?"

"…Tohru called it out before…?"

"Fine, but how do you know Tohru's name?" Shigure crossed his arms defiantly, not joking around as usual.

"I don't know!" Dark threw up his hands in annoyance (out of character, huh?). "I'm like 300 years old; I'm _supposed _to know these things!"

"Right…well who was that other angel? The white one?"

"That's Krad. He's an angel, simple as that." Dark said bluntly. "Well, a homicidal, sadistic, evil one…but he's an angel." He added thoughtfully.

(Insert sweatdrop on everyone's heads.) Just when they couldn't get even more shocked…

"Oh and he's my other half."

"WHAT!" All of Shigure's house's residents excluding Tohru shouted, surprised. "Other half? What does that mean?" Yuki asked, wide-eyed.

Dark sighed as if bored. "It's not important. You don't need to know our history."

"You don't exactly look like you're missing a half of yourself…" Uo remarked (she and Hana are still there!) casually, looking him up and down.

Dark gave a short laugh. "Do we _look _like we are one together? Maybe. But nah." he scoffed, amethyst eyes twinkling with amusement.

Tohru looked around the sky as if searching for something. "Where is Krad-san?"

Dark almost chuckled at the thought of Krad being addressed with such formality but nevertheless, he answered her. "They left."

"They?"

"Doesn't matter." Dark looked at Momiji, who was still lying unconscious. "Shouldn't you get him to a doctor?"

"Yes but…" Tohru looked down at her hands in embarrassment. "The house is very far from here. And…" she trailed off, glancing at the injured boy. Dark knelt down beside him, inspecting the wounds.

"Magic." He stated quietly. Noticing everyone's confused looks, he explained it a bit more. "He's been hurt by magic, so he has to be cured by magic."

"M-M-Momiji-kun has been hurt by magic? H-h-h-h-how?" Tohru started to panic, dancing around like an octopus stranded on land.

"Don't worry, they're minor. Just bumped into a little defensive magic, that's all…" Dark pulled out a feather and held it over Momiji's head. He seemed to be thinking for a moment (he was actually talking to Dai) and he nodded his head slightly, although a concerned look flickered across his face.

Dark closed his eyes and began to concentrate. A blue light surrounded him, making his hair sort of hover in the air (Uo: "Hey check it out, its Hana in male form!") and the light pulsed for a minute, before flowing into the feather through to Momiji. The rest of the group watched in concern and a slight bit of fear, but to their relief, and somewhat surprise, the young boy's wounds gradually faded, and he was soon looking new as ever.

Dark winced in pain, clutching his side; so much magic was beginning to affect him too, not just Daisuke.

Slowly, Momiji's eyes flickered, and then opened groggily. "Huh?"

"Momiji-kun!" Tohru cried, and would have flung herself on to him if it wasn't for the curse. "You're alright!"

He smiled sleepily at the many people he saw near him. "Papa won't have to worry now…that's good," Quite suddenly, he slipped back into sleep, his breathing now even and unimpaired.

Anticipating some sort of negative reaction, Dark jumped in. "Don't worry, its just after effects of some magic. He'll wake up soon."

With twitched on Dark's back; he was getting fidgety and an unexplainable desire to go home to rest. "Kyuu!"

Dark looked at his wings in surprise. With was normally not this restless. He turned back to the group and raised a hand in farewell. "Well, guess this is goodbye. I did what I did, and I got places to go too, you know? See ya!"

He was about to take off when a sharp pain hit him in the side. Dark doubled over, clutching it and swearing quietly to himself.

"Damnit…Krad's gonna _die _for this. Stupid magic…"

"Ano…Dark-san? A-are you ok?" Tohru stepped forward worriedly. "Is something the matter?"

Ignoring her, Dark took off unsteadily, relying on With to take him home. "That bastard…"

Uo and Hana left (I gotta get rid of them _somehow_), having seen enough for one night, leaving the Sohma's alone in the night. They watched Dark fly through the sky, then suddenly disappearing out of sight.

Shigure, recovering first, turned to the others and clapped his hands.

"Well, looks like you're going to be staying over tonight Kisa-chan, Hiro-kun, Kagura-chan, and Momiji-kun!" he laughed, oblivious to Kyo who seemed ready to commit suicide.

As they started walking back in silence, Shigure carrying Momiji, Yuki lingered behind a bit with Kyo, Shigure and Tohru, while the others walked ahead. He brought up something that everyone else was quietly tiptoeing around.

"I think Dark is connected with Daisuke in some way."

Shigure paused to look at him, Kyo and Tohru also turning around to listen. "What makes you say that, Yuki-kun?"

"Like what you pointed out earlier; Dark and Daisuke, there's something more than a coincidence."

Shigure waited silently, knowing that Yuki had something else to say. "And?"

"…With."

"Something interesting about that cute little furball?" Shigure asked teasingly, shifting Momiji's weight on to the other side.

"He can transform."

"What?" Kyo shouted, looking at the other teen questionably. "I knew there was something wrong about that…" he muttered to himself grumpily.

"Are you sure, Yuki-kun?" Tohru asked, thinking back to how cute With seemed when she first met him. "I mean, not to say you're wrong, but it's just that…"

"It doesn't matter Honda-san. But I saw him with my own eyes. Dark's wings are actually With!" Yuki explained, remembering back to when Dark summoned his wings.

Everyone gasped; this was a bit of a ground-shaker. Shigure looked up as they approached their house. He then looked over to next door, where Daisuke was living.

"Well Yuki-kun, I'm not sure how things are going to turn out, but," he paused dramatically. "As they say, _Que sera sera_!" Shigure laughed, waving his finger in the air. "Let's all go in for a good night's sleep!"

**Punch! **

"He he he…" Shigure chuckled, stumbling into the house with minor concussion. Kyo and Tohru followed him, but Yuki paused to look next door. He thought he saw someone on the roof…he shook his head; he'll think about this tomorrow.

Yuki entered the house, not noticing a pair of amethyst eyes watching him.

---------------------------------

**Yay! I got the chapter finished! Yuki's getting real suspicious now…sorry for getting rid of Hana and Uo like that, I didn't know how else to do it! I hope you enjoyed, and I'll be off to do other things now…things you do not need to know…XD! R&R please!**


	7. What Happened Now?

**A Change of Sorts**

**Sorry, this chapter would have been up earlier had there not been something with FanFictiondotNet that wouldn't let me upload chapters forawhile! So very, very sorry! A good thing is that I've been able to use that time to start chapter 8, so that should be up soon!**

**Chapter 7: What Happened Now?**

The door slid open and Kyo, Tohru and Yuki walked into class _just _as the bell rang. Tohru let out an audible sigh of relief.

"Whew! We're not late!" she smiled cheerily at the other two and waved to her friends in the class. She sat down and looked at the seat next to her.

'Ano…Niwa-kun isn't here yet…oh I hope he knows it's bad to be late on your 2nd day…' she thought in concerned. Before she could start worrying too much, the door slid open and the teacher walked in, hushing all the students who had previously been chatting animatedly about Dark.

"Alright, settle down while I take the role," the teacher ordered, sitting down at the desk. "Tatsuki Akata."

"Here."

The teacher rattled on down the list, and Tohru was so caught up with anxiety for Daisuke that she nearly missed her own name being called out, had Hana not reminded her quietly.

"Daisuke Niwa?"

Silence.

The teacher looked up and raised an eyebrow, scanning the class carefully for the bright red hair.

"Oh yes, that's right…" she mumbled and went back to the role.

"Alright class," she announced as soon as she finished the role. "Take out your history books and read chapter 3! Pronto!" she commanded, ignoring the groans she received.

Tohru looked around worriedly again before sighing, and turning to her book.

------------------------------

"Tohru, Tohru!" Momiji bounced up energetically. "Hi!" He would have hugged her had it not been for Kyo's angry grasp.

"Momiji-kun! Are you ok?" she checked him anxiously, but he beamed at her in affirmation.

"Don't worry, I'm okie-doo!" he grinned, causing Kyo to grip him even tighter. "Ano…Tohru? Where's Dai-kun?" he peered around in confusion from under Kyo's hand.

"He's not here today, Momiji." Yuki told him quietly, still thinking about last night's events.

"I wonder why?" Hana intoned, closing her eyes in concentration. "He appears to be at home…in bed…"

"…" The wind howled around the teenagers, sending hair into a mess. A tumbleweed bounced past the shocked teens, leaving them in silence.

"Ano…Hana-chan, can your electric waves reach back home?" Tohru asked finally, amazed by this skill.

"No…" she replied, not noticing everyone's sweatdrop. "But I believe that is where he is…He is a very strange boy indeed…"

Haru watched this from bored eyes. "You know, maybe Daisuke is just, I dunno, adjusting to this new town. I mean, he's only been here for a few days." He pointed out, quite reasonably really. "You're acting like old widows fretting about their only son…"

Kyo snarled at him. "Shut up you stupid cow, stop acting like you own the freaking place!" He growled.

"Just pointing it out," Haru stated quietly, not even going Black. To everyone's surprise, he simply turned and started walking away. "The bell's going to go soon. We should get to class."

"A-a-actually," Tohru spoke up quietly. "I asked Sensei before, and she said she had received a call telling her that Niwa-kun would not be able to come due to some injuries. But she didn't know who called."

Yuki sighed and followed Haru; this was causing way more havoc than was healthy for his daily routine…and that was saying a lot.

---------------------------------

"Don't worry Mii-chan, I assure you that I will have the manuscript ready and done by the deadline, I mean by the extended deadline. Triple extended you say? Very well, I will have that done by the triple extended deadline." Shigure said, closing his eyes in a sort of satisfaction.

"Ok, bye bye!" Shigure waved at the phone cheerily, hanging up before she could let another word out.

He pulled out a fan and opened it, laughing oh so cheekily. Still chuckling, he walked outside, still carrying the fan that read 'satisfied by cheekiness' (I got it from Clamp School Detectives, couldn't resist XD). Only then did he stop, peering outside in thought.

"Hmm…now _what _was I supposed to write about again?" he mused to himself, and then shrugged. "Oh well, I'll find out the next time Mii-chan rings about the deadline…"

Shigure gazed outside for a moment, enjoying the peace and quiet of the empty house. Too bad he wasn't suited for quiet.

"I know! I'll go over to the bookstore!" he pumped his fist excitedly, as if that was the best thing he had ever thought of.

First he skidded over to the phone once again and picked it up, dialling rapidly. "Hello? Haa-san!" He paused for a moment, and then made a face. "Haa-san, you know that I'm not _that _mean to Mii-chan…she'll never want to quit her job as my editor, you know that." Pause. "No, I did not conspire with Aya in a secret plot against you," Pause. "Or Yuki-kun." Pause. "Or Tohru-kun." Sweatdrop. "He he…Now _why_ would we want to plot against Kyo-kun…Haa-san? Haa-san?" Shigure blinked at the phone, and then redialled.

"Haa-san, honestly. If you would just stop thinking I did something bad, I can get to the point." Pause. "Yes, I had a reason to call you." Pout. "NO, nothing happened to Tohru-kun! No, I did not eat all the food in the house and get myself sick, what kind of adult do you think I am? Yes, I know it's not the first time that it's happened, but that is beside the point! No, for the last time Mii-chan did NOT commit suicide! NO, I am not goi-wait, yes, _yes, _that's exactly what I called about!" Shigure smiled contently, having finally got his point across to Hatori. "Do you need anything from the bookstore?"

"Oh, you don't need me to pick up anything? Or ask if they have your order in yet? Oh well, it was all in good fun!" Pause. "Oh no, I'll still be going, of course!" Pause. "I don't have to worry about that, not at all! I can talk as long as I want and it won't matter!" Shigure announced sneakily. "After all, I bill all my costs to the main hou-Haa-san?" Shigure grinned cheekily. "Ah well, it was all fun." He put down the phone and went out, humming cheerfully.

**On the other end…**

Hatori stared at the phone in disgust and made a reminder to ask the Technology Department in one of the many Sohma research groups to block Shigure's calls.

_Ring ring._

Hatori hesitantly picked it up, answering professionally. "Sohma Medical Care, this is Hatori Sohma speaking."

"_Hatori?"_

"Who is calling?"

"_It's Mayu. Just calling to tell you that the books you have ordered have come in."_

"Okay. Thank you Mayu."

"_No problem! I'll be seeing Shigure soon, I suppose…"_

Hatori gritted his teeth at this thought. "No, I think I'll come along this time."

"_Ok then. Hang on a minute." _Even through the muffled mouthpiece he could hear Mayu shouting to her mother. _"Ugh. Sorry Hatori, gotta run!"_

"Bye."

Hatori replaced the phone on the receiver, deep in thought.

_No way am I calling Shigure to pick that up._

------------------------------

Shigure walked along the path leading back from the bookstore. He had browsed through a few good books, although he decided, quite sadly, that he would not buy them. He had to save that money for more important matters.

Shigure raised his robed arm to his face dramatically, crying at the thought of those beloved books never being able to come into his possession.

"Oh Haa-san, I will never be able to see those lovely books in my house. Ever!" Shigure wailed, talking to the embarrassed doctor walking next to him. They had met at the bookstore, and Hatori was coming over to give Yuki his monthly check-up a little early, because of the smoke Shigure had explained to him that Yuki inhaled last night.

"Oh shut up. All you go there for is to stare at your own books." He muttered sternly, telling himself: _Just because you were childhood friends, you do not have to be so friendly now. After all, man's best friend, dogs, aren't always that nice. _And that **included **Shigure.

Shigure pouted. "Awww, Haa-san, you're mean!"

"You're stupid." He replied blankly. He expected another stupid reply back, but to his surprise, he noticed Shigure stop and stare at the house next to his. Daisuke's house.

"What are you staring at now?" Hatori asked, but Shigure didn't reply. Instead, he turned into the path (not literally!) that led to Daisuke's house, pausing at the door. "Shigure!"

Hatori paused beside him in front of the house, only just then realising he had not yet met the newcomers.

"I saw someone move inside the house." He said quietly. "And it's too early for Daisuke-kun to finish school yet."

"And? It could be a family member." Hatori told him, irritated.

"But Daisuke-kun lives alone. He told us so."

"…are you going to do anything about it?" Hatori asked, not really wanting to know.

"Yes." Shigure replied seriously. "I'm going to go inside and find out!" He announced cheerfully, and then thought it over. "And you're coming with me too." He added, dragging Hatori in, who grumbled at the thought of this.

Quietly, Shigure stood beside the door, listening for any sound of noise. There was a slight rustling, and a slow, uneven pounding of footsteps, showing that the owner may have been limping, which were quickly accompanied by a set of lighter ones pit-pattering after the heavier one. There was no doubt about it; someone was home. Either that or Daisuke was getting robbed.

Shigure's eyes widened as he whispered his theory to Hatori. "And we can go in now, stop the thief and save the day!" he cheered quietly, so that they wouldn't attract attention. Hatori groaned quietly, although there wasn't much he could do about it.

"Remember, stealth and silence is the key." Shigure mouthed as they prepared to enter.

"Stealth and silence …" He flung the door open and pointed to the nearest moving thing in sight. "WE CAUGHT YOU RED-HANDED YOU LOWLIFE OF A TH-oh…"

Hatori poked his head over his shoulder and sighed. "Shigure, that's a curtain."

Shigure rubbed his head sheepishly, embarrassed by this. "Ehehe…" Shigure laughed nervously, and then suddenly pointed again. "AHA! THERE'S OUR _REAL _CUL-ah, hello Daisuke-kun."

Daisuke had appeared into view slowly, leaning on the wall for support. Behind him jumped a small bunny onto his shoulder, blinking at their sudden guests.

"Uh, Shigure-san? Hello…Sohma-san?" Daisuke guessed, not knowing Hatori's name.

Hatori bowed to him. "Hatori Sohma. Pleased to make your acquaintance."

Daisuke fumbled but bowed politely, albeit crookedly, back. "Daisuke Niwa, pleased to meet you."

"Daisuke-kun, why aren't you in school?" Shigure asked, noticing that he was still in his pyjamas.

"Uh, you see…long story." He muttered, With 'kyuu'-ing as if to back his evidence. Shigure eyed the little creature, who blinked back cutely, remembering what Yuki had said about him last night.

Daisuke headed to the living room, while welcoming them in, and set about making tea. Shigure and Hatori sat themselves down, watching as Daisuke fumbled with the tea-making.

"Ano…Daisuke-kun. Do you need some help there?" Shigure asked, noticing Daisuke's bandaged leg. Daisuke shook his head, just as a cup came crashing down into a horrible end.

He stared after it in shock, berating his own clumsiness. Slowly, and somewhat painfully, he bent down and gathered the pieces up to throw away, ignoring their sharp tips poke into his hands. They were all bruised already anyway.

Eventually, the tea was ready and Daisuke joined them, feeling awkward because somehow, it seemed strange that a teenager was having guests that were nearly twice his age over…

Hatori sipped the tea carefully, and then looked over at Daisuke, his uncovered eye watching him.

"Tell me about yourself, Daisuke."

Daisuke jolted up in shock, causing him to flinch. But he had certainly not expected that from such a professional looking person like Hatori. Eventually, after intense staring from Hatori, he answered.

"Uh, I'm 16, nearly 17, I come from Azumano." He noticed Hatori's eye narrowed (it doesn't mean anything bad, so don't worry) in recognition but chose to ignore it. "I am an only child, am fond of art…uh let's see now…" his eyes travelled around the room, looking for something to talk about. His eyes landed on With, innocent With, and lit up as they found the perfect thing to talk about.

"This is my pet With." Daisuke announced, plunking the rabbit down in front of him. "He is a type of rabbit and enjoys strawberries. He has been with my family for generations, so I'm not sure where we got him from."

Hatori eyed the bunny with interest, examining it carefully. After all, he remembered what Shigure had told him about Dark and his wings.

"Kyuu?" The rabbit cocked his head cutely at him, as if asking how he could suspect such a _harmless _animal.

Shigure decided to speak up now, seeing as the other two didn't look like they were going to be very chatty. "Daisuke-kun, Haa-san here is a doctor, specifically a doctor for the Sohma household. And Tohru-kun of course." He beamed proudly, as if Hatori was his amazingly bright son and he was boasting about his extraordinary skill to Daisuke.

Hatori nodded at the mention of his name, but did not say anything.

"So, Daisuke-kun. Why _aren't _you in school?" Shigure asked, pursuing the matter once more.

"Ah…well, I got really hurt…yesterday, and it hurts just about every time I try to walk." He explained uneasily, shifting in his seat. Hatori's eyes bored into him, and he looked down to avoid his stare.

"How did you get hurt, Daisuke-kun?" Shigure asked with genuine concern, but also a slight suspicion.

"It's a long story." Daisuke repeated stubbornly, staring at his feet. Shigure frowned for a minute, but decided that he wasn't going to get anything out of him anyway.

"Well, you should let Haa-san look at your wounds; you seem in an awful lot of pain." Shigure pointed out, indicating his occasional wince of pain. However, the redhead shook his head and declined the offer.

"I'll be fine. They're not that serious…" he said quickly, wincing again at another jolt of pain that hit his body.

But Hatori was already ordering him to lift up his shirt so he could get an overall look at his injuries. There seemed to be quite a few gashes throughout his body that had only recently stopped bleeding, and also a messily wrapped bandage around his upper chest. Hatori unwrapped the bandage to see what was wrong with it, noticing a few fairly shallow cuts.

"What's the bandage here for? They don't seem that deep."

Daisuke turned around to see what Hatori was talking about, and then blushed slightly. "It's for something else." And didn't say any more.

Hatori sighed with frustration as he wrapped a fresh roll of bandage around it; it was really easier when his patients co-operated with him and told him what was wrong. But Daisuke, he seemed reluctant to reveal the source of his pain.

Shigure watched with some interest as Hatori checked the wounds, trying to think of a way to prove if there really was some sort of connection between the Thief and the redhead, then remembered Dark's predicament from last night.

"Daisuke-kun, there's something stuck under the TV set," Shigure pointed to a conveniently stuck object underneath the TV. "What is that?"

Daisuke gave him a confused look, as well as Hatori, but looked over there anyway. His eyes widened as they noticed what it was, but he had to answer Shigure. "I think it might be one of my paintbrushes or something." He lied. "With, can you bring it to me?"

"Kyuu!" With bounded over and retrieved the feather, quickly placing it into Daisuke's pocket and slipping a paintbrush into his hand. Hatori noticed this exchange, but remained quiet; he was too busy dressing the other open wounds.

"Yeah, I was looking for this." He lied, putting it away. Shigure raised an eyebrow, hmm, his plan had not worked. Oh well, it was only to test something.

"That's a smart creature." Hatori remarked, reaching out to touch the rabbit's head. With rubbed itself against Hatori's fingers happily and then jumped back onto Daisuke's shoulder where he could observe the room.

"Now, tell me if it hurts when I touch here."

Daisuke gave a short yelp of pain, and then covered his mouth. Maybe next time he wouldn't let Dark use so much magic. But then, it was partly Krad's fault, slamming Dark into the ground like that…

Hatori narrowed his eyes at this 'minor' injury. "Daisuke, you must tell me where you got these injuries so I can work out a diagnosis for this." He told him seriously. After all, it wasn't natural for someone to sport a seriously injured body like that. It looked like he had been slammed again something violently. "And there are these two faint scars here too…" he muttered, noting the two long lines that ran down half of his back.

"They're old injuries…" Daisuke replied. "And really, I'll be fine. I'll just have a warm bath tonight."

Hatori shook his head. "Don't let me ever see you with these sort of injuries again." He told him firmly, than stood up. "I'll give some cream to Shigure tomorrow to pass to you. I'll be heading over to your house now, Shigure. I hope you keep yourself out of harm's way, Daisuke." He nodded at him, and then left the house.

Shigure watched him leave sheepishly, then stood up and bowed to Daisuke. "Sorry about that, but Haa-san tends to get a little too professional sometimes. He's not as scary as some people think; he's just had a hard life." Shigure also prepared to leave, waving to Daisuke. "Get better soon; you wouldn't want to miss school again tomorrow. Don't worry, Tohru-kun and the others will probably be over soon!" He smiled and exited, and Daisuke could hear him running to catch up with Hatori.

He sighed, getting up slowly to head over to the bathroom to splash some refreshing water onto his face.

Daisuke looked at his image in the mirror; it showed a tired face with dull red eyes with slight bags underneath. He couldn't get to sleep last night; it was too painful every time he turned in bed. There was also a bandaid crossing his cheek where he had got cut from some of the tree branches last night when they were slammed to the ground.

--Sorry 'bout that Dai-chan, I'll make sure Krad gets it next time,-- Dark assured him, waving a fist at the thought of beating up Krad for doing this to his Tamer. After all, he used the same battered body to go thieving.

Daisuke sighed and washed his face again. "It doesn't matter Dark. The only problem is not getting anyone too suspicious of me not going to school. But I can't go tomorrow, what with my fractured ribs and all…" He sighed again; it was hard hiding that, since that was what the bandage was for. But he had to attend regular classes; otherwise he would attract too much attention.

--Don't worry.-- Dark perked up cheerfully. --With can go for you!--

Daisuke groaned and wiped his face. "But With can't even say my name properly, how can he talk to everyone else?"

--Don't worry, just let him at least learn to say he has a sore throat and can't talk much, or learn how to indicate it with his hands! No problem-o!-- Dark grinned, sure that his theory would work. Daisuke looked at With doubtfully; he didn't want With mucking up and causing some trouble at school…

"Hello! Is anyone home?" Daisuke heard an urgent rapping at the door, accompanied by Tohru's concerned voice. It was going to take him awhile to get there; the door was on the other side of the house.

Problem solved. Kyo kicked the door open and barged in, Tohru and Yuki behind him. Shigure also popped his head in, sighing as he noted the broken door. "See, that's why I told you not to come here…"

"Niwa-kun! Are you alright?" Tohru called out, wondering where he went. "Where are you?"

Daisuke popped his head around the corner, smiling as he saw who it was. "Hello! Sorry for that wait, I see it didn't really matter…" he trailed off, eyeing the broken door. "Ah! Momiji! Are you alright?" he asked, noticing the energetic boy poke his head in.

He beamed and nodded enthusiastically. "Yup! Good as new!"

Daisuke smiled in relief. "That's good to know."

Shigure sneaked him a suspicious glance. "Eh, Daisuke-kun. How did you know what happened to Momiji-kun last night?"

"U-u-uh…I, erhem, and well you see…" Daisuke paused for a minute, thinking of an excuse. "I…just do." He looked off rather uneasily, unconsciously rubbing the back of his head which was pretty sore due to a particularly hard bang on the head last night.

Daisuke cringed, wishing he'd stop doing that out of habit. "Ow…"

"Niwa-kun, are you alright? We didn't see you in class today, and Sensei said you got hurt and was staying at home!" Tohru asked worriedly. "Where did you get that cut? And those bandages around your leg…are you limping Niwa-kun?"

Daisuke laughed nervously, especially after seeing the steady stares he received from the other two, excluding Shigure of course.

"Ano, you see, this one," he touched his cheek. "I scratched myself on something sharp, but don't worry, its ok." He added, seeing Tohru's frantic eyes. "And I fell down yesterday, uh down the stairs. But don't worry, I'm fine." He could see from Shigure's eyes that he didn't believe him, seeing as how stubborn he was before to reveal the source of his injuries.

"I'll make some tea," he announced, shuffling around the kitchen with his limping leg. Tohru dashed around him in an attempt to help, but he smiled at her kindly and told her to sit down. "I can manage, Honda-san. Don't worry."

Shigure piped up cheerfully. "Don't forget that broken cup Daisuke-kun!" Daisuke blushed and nearly dropped the one he was currently holding, but then again, that could have been because of the bandages wrapped around his fingers.

Daisuke brought cups of tea over, and handed one to everyone, except Shigure who declined, having already drank his share of tea earlier. Yuki fanned his tea while he looked closely at With.

He slowly reached out a hand to it, as if expecting it to suddenly rear its head and transform into some beastly creature and bite off his hand. Instead, it did something completely and utterly different. So different, it was scary.

With sniffed his fingers, than gave a loud 'kyuu' and started licking it. It nuzzled its soft head against Yuki's fingers, occasionally sniffing and giving a satisfied sort of sigh. A minute later, it was trying to eat Yuki's hand.

"With!" Daisuke commanded sharply, and With pouted at him. "That's strange…the only time he acts like this is when there are strawberries nearby that he can smell…" Daisuke frowned, reaching out to retrieve With.

"Uh, that would be when I was picking the strawberries before…" Yuki spoke up softly, remembering when he was at the secret base. "They were particularly sweet too, that must be why he can smell it."

Daisuke smiled. "Yeah, he's always had a nose for strawberries. He could probably taste the strawberries on your hand, that must be why he was trying to eat it." He scratched With on the head, silencing its mournful cries. "You silly bunny." He scowled With gently, placing him on his head.

(I just noticed I haven't made Kyo say anything…hmm, must get him to speak up soon)

"You're a real idiot to fall down the stairs you know." Kyo snorted (problem solved!). "Even she," he jerked his head at Tohru. "Has yet to do that."

"Quiet you stupid cat." Yuki told him, annoyed. "I don't see you doing any better. Who was the one that fell on 'Jason''s footprint at the lake?" Yuki smirked (it seems kinda strange to me, but why not?), knowing Kyo had still not gotten over that yet.

"Shut up, you stupid rat! It's not my fault that a damn bear was stamping around the path!" Kyo shouted, his ears standing up, shaking a fist at Yuki. Shigure sniggered, seeing that his 'Jason' joke was still a hot topic.

"Kyo-kun, Jason isn't real you know…he's a character from a horror movie." Shigure told him, while snickering audibly all the time.

"How am _I _supposed to know? I don't go around watching stupid movies about stupid bears!"

Yuki smirked; that stupid cat was as stupid as ever. By now, even Daisuke was laughing; he had never heard something so funny before. Even he knew Jason was from a horror movie, or rather, Dark knew.

--I used some tricks I picked up from horror movies to freak those police out. They used to be _so _gullible.-- he smirked, remembering the time he took a scene from the movie 'In the Midst of the Night' Oh, that was _sweet_.

--They still are, actually, now that I think about it…-- Dark mused, a thoughtful look on his face. Daisuke smiled when he heard that; Dark had a very centred view on police.

"…what do you think Daisuke?" All eyes turned on him as he looked up, confused and very much embarrassed.

"I-I'm sorry, I didn't hear that. Can you repeat that?" Daisuke blushed, hearing Kyo's comment about him 'acting like he was in school and fell asleep during class.'

"I said, what do you think about Dark? Shigure agrees with me here in saying that what he does is wrong, and Honda-san believes that there must be a good reason, although she does admit that it seems wrong. Momiji isn't really saying anything, he's too busy poking With. The cat here just believes he's an idiot, but he says that about everyone." Yuki repeated, ignoring Kyo's loud complaints. He was interested in what Daisuke had to say.

"O-oh. Well…" Daisuke thought for a minute, as if confused. "…no comment."

"Huh?" The group answered in unison, confused. No comment on a topic as simple as that?

"Well, you see, it's kinda hard to judge someone just by their job. Who knows? Maybe Dark has some sort of personal reason to do it." Daisuke propped his head on his uninjured arm, gazing out the window thoughtfully.

"Because it won't be right to just look on the side Dark only shows to others, when we don't know what else he is like. What I mean is that, although Dark may seem like a cocky, arrogant jerk (which I must say he is sometimes), I think that it isn't really fair for any of us to say until we really find out all the answers." Daisuke shrugged; in all honesty, he didn't know everything about Dark either. In fact, he doubted that anyone in his family knew.

--You're not very nice.-- Dark pouted, crossing his arms. --The least you could do was put in a good word for me.--

-I did. I didn't say anything bad about you.-

--Still…-- Dark frowned, although it was only all pretence. --Oh well, I guess it's better than what they said.--

"That's not 'no comment'; you just gave _all _your comments about Dark." Yuki gave a small smile, as Shigure cracked up. Daisuke smiled too; he really did do that.

"But I guess it does make you think about that. In fact, that could change a whole _world's _views on Dark." Shigure mused, oblivious to the fact that Dark was quietly cheering for himself in Daisuke's head. He grinned. "Actually, you just gave a Tohru-kun type speech! And you're not Tohru-kun!"

Everyone laughed, except Kyo, because the way Shigure said it, it sounded like Daisuke had robbed something from Tohru.

Daisuke stopped laughing and smiled. He felt so welcome here, that the homesickness was ebbing away for a bit. The Sohma's and Tohru were really kind people.

--Yes, but all the Sohma's seem to be holding in great pain in their hearts. Pain and sadness.-- Dark said quietly. --I can tell. Even those little ones from yesterday had their fair share of dark feelings. Even more than your family does from the curse.--

-Don't say that Dark. A curse makes you seem like some sort of rotten creature that spreads disease and lives in sewers…(--thanks a lot…--), which you're not.-

--Still, the gloomy feeling is ever-present. I have to say though, the Hikari's have got competition…--

Daisuke almost burst out laughing at that, even though he knew it was a fairly serious thing, the curse. Still, he couldn't help but wonder about the Sohma's predicament. And Tohru appeared to be involved indirectly too, seeing as she lived with them and let them open up to her.

Soon, the Sohma's left, Tohru waving cheerily. "I'll see you in school tomorrow, Niwa-kun! Get well soon!"

"No problems Honda-san! I'll be there!" Daisuke smiled weakly. With was going to need some serious tutoring tonight…

--------------------------------

Daisuke sat back, tired. Across from him sat Daisuke, who also seemed tired yet hid it all away underneath a goofy grin.

"Daisuki?"

Daisuke clutched his head in frustration and disbelief. "With…how many times do I need to tell you? It's DaisuKE, not DaisuKI!" he moaned, annoyed beyond possible.

With cocked his head to the side cutely. "Daisuke?"

Daisuke looked up; was it finally happening?

"Daisuke, I want strawberries!" With pleaded, his red eyes begging for those sweet, scrumptious fruities…

"Ugh…" Daisuke let out an irritated sigh from his position on the ground, where he had previously fallen. -Figures, the first thing he learns to say is about strawberries.-

--Good With.--

-…-

"OK, With, good job. I'll get you strawberries later if," he added, noticing the boy's excited look. "You can keep a low profile tomorrow and learn to say one more thing."

With nodded his head excitedly, although he had no idea what a low profile was. Was it a new type of strawberries…?

"OK, now repeat after me…I. Have. A. Sore. Throat. And. Can't. Talk. Too. Much. Now go."

With thought that over slowly, and then began to string the words together.

"I. Have. A . Straw. Toad. And. Can't. Walk. Two. Bumps."

"No, no With. Listen again. I have a sore throat and can't talk too much."

With closed his eyes in concentration; he couldn't quite work out what he was doing wrong, but Daisuke didn't seem to like it.

"I ate a poor soap and can't talk, you hunch."

When he opened his eyes again, he couldn't see Daisuke anywhere in sight. "Kyuu?"

Daisuke was crawled up into a little ball, begging for the mercy of the Lord.

-----------------------------------

**I'll end it here for now…poor With, trying to learn all those words…here's a strawberry XD. Thanks to reviewers for reading and liking my story; your reviews are much appreciated. Please wait patiently for the next chapter; school's starting soon so won't be able to go on much. **

**Bye-bye till the next update, and remember to R&R!**

**BTW, the movie title was just something I plucked from my head, nothing really significant (or genuine, either).**

**BTW Again, I've noticed that my chapter titles are getting strange…does anyone want me to change them?**


	8. A Day at School! full title inside

**A Change of Sorts**

**Waaah…holidays are over! Oh well, just another 12 weeks of school then holidays again…how did people find the last chapter? Hope people liked it, because this chapter will be like a second part of it. I think…maybe not. Like I once said, I don't make rough drafts; therefore I don't know what's going to happen. Maybe that's why it's so fun to write them. Enough rambling, read on!**

**Chapter 8: A Day at School! (And what happens when Emiko gets…over excited…)**

"Niwa-kun!" Tohru cried out joyfully, relieved that the redhead had attended that day. She noted that he seemed in a much better state today then yesterday. In fact, the bandages around his leg had disappeared, and the only thing that showed any connection to the day before was the bandage on his cheek.

Yeah, Daisuke decided not to risk it and slapped the bandaid on at the last minute. Tactful, wasn't it?

Unfortunately, Daisuke had forgotten to teach With to respond to 'Niwa-kun' as well as 'Daisuke'. Bummer.

"Niwa-kun?" Tohru's face appeared above With's (I'm gonna refer to him as With (which makes sense) as long as he really is With.) thoughtful one that was propped on one arm on the desk. Daisuke had also told the bunny NOT to go around smiling like it was the day that strawberries got to take over the earth, but to instead keep a quiet looking face around company.

Imagine slaving away, and all those pained hours Daisuke spent attempting to 'Teach an Old Dog New Tricks', as they say. He nearly failed.

"Daisuke?" Yuki asked, also appearing next to With. He looked up, finally, hearing the name of his Master's Tamer, who was also his Master in a way, but then again, Dark really was the one he truly belonged to, although he did rely on Daisuke's family all his life, but still, Dark was really his Master. Daisuke was sort of like an apprentice, but also his Master. Now With was confused.

If only he could put so much thinking power into his people and talking skills…

"Glad to see you're feeling better, Niwa-kun!" Tohru exclaimed, not noticing the redhead's state of mind. With finally got it into his head that she was referring to him as Niwa-kun, so he nodded, not really understanding.

"What's with him?" Kyo snorted, eyeing With with something similar to contempt. "He's acting all serious and not even talking."

"Shut up, you stupid cat." Yuki muttered, glaring at the other teen.

"Why you-" Kyo was cut off by Tohru, who was still looking at With in a concerned way, having taken Kyo's comment seriously.

"Ano…Niwa-kun, do you have a sore throat?"

'_Sore…throat? They sound familiar…where did I hear them from? Hm…'_

"**_OK, now repeat after me…I. Have. A. Sore. Throat. And. Can't. Talk. Too. Much."_**

'_Oh yeah…so that means…I'm supposed to say no!' _With perked up, proud of himself for deciphering that complicated message and working out an answer.

'_Wait a minute. I DO have a sore throat. So…does that mean I have to say…'_

"Niwa-kun?" Tohru peered at him curiously. He seemed to be having a lot of trouble with that question…

"Yes!" With suddenly burst out, hoping he said the right thing. He noticed Tohru's surprised face, and immediately began to panic.

"So…you have a sore throat?"

"…" Nods head. Relieved smile.

"Oh! And I thought there was something wrong with you, Niwa-kun! Silly me, huh?" Tohru laughed, mock-punching her head. With laughed too, although not exactly knowing why.

Just then, the bell rang, leaving all the students in a mad dash back to their seats, breaking the many conversations that were revolving around Dark.

"Ok class!" the teacher walked in, smiling at the students. "We're going to have a test today! I hope you all studied last night!"

Simultaneous groans racked through the class, the only one not groan was With, who didn't know what to do anyway.

'_Oh no…test?' _With recalled the many times Daisuke had rushed back from a theft, calling out, 'I HAVE TO DO A TEST TOMORROW, SO LEAVE ME ALONE!', and ending up in a very tired and frustrated Daisuke who was panicking about the dreaded test that lay ahead for him.

'_Kyuu…'_

"Now, Daisuke-san." The teacher called to him, and he looked up. "I understand that you did not know of the test, and under normal circumstances, I would assume you knew your facts and would be able to handle the test anyway." With tensed, and he could hear Tohru gasp next to him. He didn't even know how to _write_, for God's sake, let alone take a test. Heck, before yesterday he couldn't even say Daisuke's _name_ properly. Speaking of which, he wasn't sure he could now anyway.

"But," she continued, flicking loftily through her sheets. "Seeing as you are new, and that I have no previous record of your working status, you will be excused from this test, but from this test alone. Understand?" she looked at him steadily, and With slowly nodded his head. So…he didn't have to do it?

"Now, please read chapter 3 of your history book and answer the questions once you have done. This will make up for some of the work you missed out yesterday."

With slowly pulled out the book he assumed was the history book; luckily, he assumed right. He opened to chapter 3 as the teacher pried a begging student off herself and continued handing out the tests. He stared at the first word while the rest of the class started working on the tests.

By the time the rest of the class were halfway through, With…well let's just say he wasn't doing that well.

In fact, he was doing BRILLIANT. Suddenly, all those years of sneaking off to Daisuke's school with him, watching the despairing teen frantically work off a load of homework, and all the while, craving for some strawberries, With actually picked up quite a lot.

He suddenly remembered the meaning of the word history, as well as those of the others that surrounded it in a mumbo jumble. Now, he could see that they were not messy heaps, but more of organized chaos.

With smiled to himself, proud. He picked up a pencil to answer the questions, and was just about finished them, while the class was beginning to slowly panic their tiny little minds (except for those _obvious_ smarties of course, they'll _never _do _that _bad on a test) off.

A thought suddenly hit him. _Wait a minute. I can't write! So, how did I…? _

He glanced down at his sheet. _I can write! I'm actually writing! Oh, oh, oh, oh…_

He smiled cheerfully and placed the tip of the pencil to the sheet to continue. It froze there, while a delicate eyebrow twitched.

_Now HOW do I write again?_

With placed his head in his hands and mentally screamed. How could he have forgotten something that he didn't even know how to do? He was such a fool to have done tha- wait a minute. That didn't sound right. Forgetting something he didn't even know how to do?

Meanwhile, the teacher watches With with some kind of dry amusement.

_What a strange boy. I was sure that no other students yesterday did this during the questions, they're relatively easy. He's very amusing indeed._ She chuckled to herself as With seemed to wrestle with his brain in his hands.

_It's as if he had forgotten how to write._

-----------------------------

"OK class! I want you to each write a short story, any kind, as long as it's a story. It can be fiction, non-fiction, and fantasy, whatever!" The teacher smiled as she watched the class rejoice. It was the last period of the day, and With was slowly losing his sanity from the fact that every single wretched lesson had something to do with writing in it. And he could only write when he wasn't even thinking about how to write, which made things very confusing once his brain decided to start concentrating.

"But, I want you to do it all in English." Teacher smiled in an evil sort of way. No, not evil, just gloatingly evil. Oh yes, there was that smirk, hiding all sorts of possible ways to torture her poor, poor students…

"Meeep." With shrank down in his seat; he didn't think he could handle ENGLISH. Oh no oh no oh no oh no…

With stared at the blank sheet, willing some knowledge, ANY knowledge, of Daisuke and English to come back to him.

"_**I. Have. A . Straw. Toad. And. Can't. Walk. Two. Bumps."**_

That would have to do.

He started furiously scribbling across the page, his pencil developing some sort of whacked out nonsense about a young boy teaching a magical rabbit with a craving for strawberries to talk. It showed the struggles of the poor boy as he attempted to teach the stubborn creature how to even _say _its name properly, because the rabbit was going to take the place of the boy for one day, by transforming into his exact copy and going to school.

He ended the story with a last note; Rabbits are not meant to talk. Humans should leave them in peace, no matter what kind of rabbit they are.

_There. _With thought triumphantly, reading over the page again. Halfway down…

_I can write English? I can _**read **_English? Wow oh wow oh wow oh wow…_

He found a mistake and bent down to correct it when…

_Not again._

The teacher watched With with a raised eyebrow. He seemed to be pulling some sort of panic fit, silently clutching his head and gripping the poor pencil till it nearly broke.

Hmm…what Sensei Kodama, the history teacher, had told her about With's strange behaviour was indeed true. Quite strange really…

---------------------

"Niwa-kun, your story was _very _realistic. Did you have some personal experience?" Tohru asked happily, and somewhat jokingly (let's all hope so! XD) after school, while everyone else was beginning to file out. Except for her small ring of friends, of course, which included Yuki, Kyo, Uo, Hana…and those people who liked staying behind to play Rich Man Poor Man…and yeah.

They had received their sheets back just before class ended, with the unfortunate result of a few unlucky students being dragged up front to read their stories out. With being one of them, along with Tohru, Yuki and Kyo.

Tohru's one was about her own experiences during the time of WM: With Mother. They were all heartfelt, enjoyable moments, and reduced most of the class to tears.

Yuki's one revolved around the hardships of a family living under a curse, finding darkness every way they turned, which ended in a question to the audience: Do you know what kind of experiences your classmate _really _went through? Funny how these stories related with real life…that story reduced half the girls to tears, the other half plotting ways to confront Yuki and interrogate _him._

Kyo's story was about…you don't need to know. It was pointless. It reduced no one to tears, yet, strangely enough, the whole class went down laughing…strange huh? Yuki here agrees with me in not explaining the story, it's pointless.

We all know what With's one was about, and let's just say, nobody cried, nor laughed. They were too busy being engulfed in a dumbfounded silence to laugh or cry.

With didn't answer; he wasn't quite sure how to. It was the teacher that read his story out for him, after a few minutes of vigorous arguments…

"_Daisuke-san, please come up to read your story." The teacher sang out in a creepy way, almost dancing as she waved his story. It was obvious that she wanted to humiliate him, what with his strange story and all._

_With walked up nervously, and held the sheet in his hand. Sure, he knew how to read it, but read it out loud?_

_With faced the teacher and gestured at his throat, not wanting to risk mixing up his words in talking._

_She was confused. "What? Something wrong with your neck?"_

"_No?...you want to hang yourself for having to do this?"_

"_Ano…Sensei, Niwa-kun has a sore throat today, I think that's what he means." Tohru spoke up timidly, and With looked gratefully at her._

_Sensei narrowed her eyes, not wanting to give in easily. She began a series of violent gestures including:_

Bad luck, you're gonna have to talk!_ Replied cleverly by, _I don't know what you're trying to get at.

We haven't got all day so start reading._ Rebuttal: _I like strawberries?

_And so it continued, until finally, sensei was exhausted from moving her hands so much that she finally gave up and started reading._

Tohru laughed nervously. "Oh, sorry, I forgot about your throat." She bowed apologetically. "But really, are you sure that With-san hasn't really transformed and is here now and you're not really Niwa-kun?" she asked jokingly, laughing at her own joke.

…_She's onto me._

With gave a weak smile and stood up to gather his things, breathing out an internal sigh of relief. What an exhausting day it had been. Daisuke better had those strawberries he promised ready…

"Niwa-kun, would you like to stay with us and play Rich Man Poor Man?" Tohru asked enquiringly, holding up a deck of cards, everyone else already seated around the table. With shook his head and waved goodbye, gone before anyone could even say goodbye back.

Tohru blinked; was he gone that quickly? She had half a mind to follow him, but people were already egging her on to deal. She turned around quickly and smiled, beginning to deal the cards.

--------------------------

"Kyuu…" With moaned, laying exhausted on Daisuke's lap. He was finally back to the adorable bunny form that _everyone _loved, stuffed to the max with some ripe strawberries.

Daisuke smiled and stroked him, especially his bulging tummy. "So how did it go?"

With held up the sheet from English, and pointed to his schoolbag.

_Translation: Everything is in there. See how much I suffered?_

"Hmm…I never knew you could write English With…" Daisuke mumbled, reading the story. A short kyuu told him that With didn't know either.

"Very realistic story, Mr. Strawberry guy." Daisuke tickled the white bunny, reading the comment on the page.

"'What a strange story indeed. However, you have put great detail, and explained almost as if it was happening to you! That is what I like to encourage, and your English is very good. A+.' Good job With!" Daisuke looked proudly at the little creature that was currently a pile of strawberries and cream in his lap. Literally.

"'By the way, did you have a problem in class? You seemed to be panicking in the midst of the writing.' Ehehe, With, what did you do?"

"Kyuu…"

"Oh well…hmm…" Daisuke muttered, foraging through his school bag. "So there's a history test tomorrow…and some homework from maths…not too bad With!" Daisuke beamed at him, proud of his accomplishment.

"I should get you to take my place everyday!"

"KYUUUUUUUUUUUU!" With moaned and darted out the room, hiding under the TV. He tried to, anyway.

-What's he doing?- Daisuke sweatdropped, watching With somewhat pathetically crawl across the floor, his beloved strawberries having slowed him down.

--Dunno. Want some translation?--

-Yeah…-

Dark did a very good imitation of With and his desperate plea. --Here that? That meant, NOOOOOOOOOOOO! All exclamation marks were included and the words remained unchanged, nothing was omitted. Copyright Dark Mousy, All Rights Reserved.--

-Right…-

Daisuke stood up and yawned, stretching his arms up above his head so that they nearly cracked. He was feeling much better, now that he had had a second day of rest.

"I think my leg is better now…"

He bent down and undid the bandage around his leg, pleased to find that it was steady enough to walk properly. In to the bin, went the bandage, leaving behind only a small swelling that would gradually ease away. In case you're wondering, Dark had stepped in to help heal the wounds a little faster.

_Magic á la Dark._

"Don't worry, With. I'll be well enough to go to school tomorrow; you can stay at home and veg out on the couch." He told the still crawling rabbit, who let out an audible sigh of relief.

"Niwa-kun!" Tohru tapped on the door, and it quickly opened to reveal a smiling Daisuke.

"Honda-san, hello. Come in!" he greeted her, standing aside for her. He was wearing the school uniform, in order for With to have transformed into his replica earlier, and had not taken it off, lucky him.

"Oh no, I'm sorry but Shigure-san just told me to drop some cream off for you from Hatori-san, and I got you some medicine too, for your sore throat." Tohru beamed, holding out the said articles in a bag. "I'm really sorry, but I have to get back soon. I hope your sore throat will get better, I'm glad that you can talk again!" she bowed, and left, waving a short goodbye.

"Honda-san! But-!" his answer was cut short, seeing as she had already disappeared from view. He looked down at the medicine in his bag, trying to figure out how much it would cost.

As if by magic, he noticed a small note in the bag. He pulled it out and read it.

_Remember; don't ever let me see you in that state again. Do not worry about the costs; you can have this treatment and medicine for free, as long as you never get yourself so seriously injured again._

_Yours truly,_

_Hatori Sohma._

Daisuke smiled and emptied the medicine out on the table. He picked up the cream and applied it to the few bruises he had lying around; most of them had been healed by Dark already.

He looked at the cough medicine and regretfully put it in the closet, seeing as he had no use for it anyway. He was sure there would be rainy days sometime soon anyway.

Daisuke then flopped on the couch, relaxed. Finally, his mind could be put to rest; it had been doing flip flops all day in anxiety about With's day at school. A content smile stretched across his face, as he thought about the state his life was in.

It was quickly replaced by a frown as he remembered that tomorrow, Dark had to go steal off some other artwork or the other.

--Hey, that's a _good _thing.--

"I'm just sooooo tired." Daisuke yawned, right on cue. "I don't want to have another late night."

--Don't worry; it'll be over quickly since creepy boy won't be there.--

Daisuke blinked, thinking about that. "That's right…"

--Ah well, I'm going to sleep. G'night!-- With that, Dark blinked off.

"Hey!" Daisuke called out, sighing as he heard the steady snores emitting from his alter-ego. He was _insane_. There was no way that _any _human could go to sleep that quickly. None at ALL.

On the other hand, Dark wasn't really human, was he? He had to think about that one. His mind wandered off to the conversation he had yesterday with Yuki, Kyo, Shigure and Tohru about Dark. He had meant what he said, right?

Right. Daisuke nodded with conviction. So, why exactly _did _Dark steal? He knew it was no use asking Dark, he had tried many times without success. He wondered if his parents, or perhaps grandpa knew. It was worth a shot to ask.

Daisuke glanced at the time; everyone should be at home right now, so it was the perfect time.

(Sounds of dial tone after number has been dialled…)

"_Hello?"_

"Okaa-san, its Daisuke. I wa-"

"_Dai-chan! How **are **you, sweetie? Is everything ok? We saw Dark's theft on TV the other night, did you get hurt? Are you ok? You don't have to skip school do you? Did you get the Neckl-oof!"_

"Okaa-san?"

"_Dai-chan, please tell me you're alright!"_

"I'm fine, don't worry. Did they show Dark during the theft back home?" Daisuke was surprised; how did those reporters track Dark over to here and manage to screen it back home?

"_You won't believe how eager Takeshi is to report Dark. He searched around the surrounding towns for any news about Dark."_

"Oh…" That figures. "Don't worry okaa-san, I'm alright. Dark got hurt a bit, by Krad, but we're ok now. Yes, we managed to steal the Necklet, I only had to skip one day of school; With took over for me today, and don't worry, he managed fine." Daisuke paused and took a deep breath, trying to think if there was any other question he had neglected to answer.

"_I'm so glad you're ok Dai-chan! You and Dark did a good job stealing that Necklet!" _Daisuke could almost **see **Emiko squealing with joy at the other end…

"Uh…okaa-san?"

"_I'm so glad, I'm so glad…"_

"…" There were muffled sounds and a very quiet reasoning tone heard that he could identify that it belonged to Kosuke.

"_Is anything the matter, Daisuke?"_

"Otou-san, no nothing's the matter. I just wanted to ask something." Daisuke fidgeted about nervously, not sure how to ask his question.

"_Go on."_

"Well…" Daisuke checked that Dark was _really _asleep. "It's about Dark." He half-whispered, as if trying to stop Dark from somehow being able to hear his words.

"_Yes…?"_

"Well…you see, I…I was just wondering…what I mean is…why exactly does he steal?" Daisuke stumbled on his words, trying to put his thoughts into comprehensible words.

"…_that is hard to explain."_

"Don't worry then, I was just curious…" Daisuke mumbled, feeling disappointed inside.

"_No, I got it now. OK, well, Dark's past goes back to centuries ago, about 300 years, to be precise."_

"Yes…"

"_That's when he first appeared in our family, but no-one really knows why. I heard that it may be because that the Niwa and Hikari clan were particularly powerful at that time, and it had something to do with the rivalry of the clans."_

"…"

"_Dark started stealing from the Hikari's, first because of the rivalry between the clans, as I said before, and then it became a bid to seal the dangerous artworks. Now, Dark…well I guess he has his own reasons for these types of things." _Kosuke paused, and Daisuke could just about imagine his father rubbing the back of his head in thought.

"_You can ask Dark, I guess. But then again, he might be a little touchy about that subject, so it's up to you."_

Daisuke nodded mutely, thinking about that. It took him a full 5 minutes to realise that Kosuke couldn't see him.

"_Daisuke, how are you going over there? Dark said you had made some friends?"_

Daisuke nodded. "Yeah, I made friends with my neighbours and some of their family members."

"_The Sohma's, am I correct?" _After a confirmation from Daisuke, he continued. "_They're a big family. You can easily find their name in Japan's history. However, not much is really known about them, because they rarely socialise much with 'outside' people."_

"Really? The Sohma's I know go to the same school. They don't really seem that 'non-social', but they are kinda quiet a lot." Daisuke replied, thinking about the silent Yuki, and comparing him with the rowdy Momiji.

(A/N: (not really important but yeah) I just realised this. How is it possible for Daisuke to be able to have this kind of relaxed, easy going conversation with his parents and grandpa? I feel awkward talking to _my _parents about stuff going on in my life, and let's not mention my grandma…)

"_I'm not sure, but what I do know is that it's easy to compare them with the Hikari's!" _Kosuke half-laughed, although he knew that it was not a subject to be taken lightly.

"Otou-san…that's what _Dark _said when I was talking to him yesterday about something like that. He said that the Sohma's 'appeared to have great pain and sadness in their hearts, even the little ones'. Why do you think it's like that?"

"_Hm…I'm not sure. Like I said, the Sohma's are a very mysterious family."_

"I guess…I think I might talk to Dark about that later. He might know something."

--Talk to me about what?--

-Ulp.-

--Daisuke, are you talking to Kosuke?--

Right on cue, Kosuke's voice floated over the phone. _"I'm sorry Daisuke, but your okaa-san will kill me if I keep talking and not letting her talk, so I'll leave you for now. Good bye and take care!"_

"Er, bye otou-san…"

'Click'.

--What was that all about?-- Dark asked with a loud yawn, having just woken up.

"Er…nothing…" Daisuke went red in the face, quickly pretending to tidy the room that needed no tidying.

Dark rolled his eyes. --Come on Dai-chan. We both know that you are the world's worst liar, excluding the person who holds the record in the Guinness World Records…but besides that you are _the _worst.--

"Maybe we should get some training routines in." Daisuke announced loudly, trying to divert Dark's attention. He must have been extremely desperate to draw away from the topic to suggest that, for training and traps were on his list of 'Things to Avoid at Own Risk' things.

--Hm…good idea.-- Dark agreed, letting the issue go-for the moment.

"So, uh, heheheh…how to start?" Daisuke asked, mentally cursing himself for suggesting such a despicable idea, even if he really was desperate.

--Hmmm….-- Dark half-closed his eyes in thought, staring at the empty, endless black ceiling at the top of his place in Daisuke's mind. --Well…it'll be hard, seeing as you're the only person here…--

"Well?"

--How about something like…breaking into your own house, alarms and all, from the back window of course. People will think you're a weirdo if you try to break in from the front window of your own house.-- Dark scoffed, imagining Daisuke wrenching the front window open and crawling in.

"Er…won't that be a little too simple? Not that I'm complaining, but still."

--Don't worry!-- Dark told him cheerily. --You wouldn't _believe _the security on Japanese houses these days. And Emiko told me, that time you were asleep, that she had somehow installed some extra 'things' for training here. Except,-- Dark looked around the room cautiously. --I'm not exactly sure what or where. Apparently, to activate them, you have to slide the front door open the opposite way. So have fun!-- Dark waved, grinning broadly, and blinked off to a place where he could watch (and mock) Daisuke, but could not be reached.

"Dark!" Daisuke wailed, grumbling when all he received was a little snigger. He sighed and went to turn on all the security and locks in the house. Eventually he stopped by the front door.

Hesitantly, Daisuke went outside, and slid the door the opposite way. An eerie silence filled the house, and he sighed and closed the door.

Daisuke looked up at the back window from the backyard. He looked at the one that was his bedroom and gulped. He didn't really want to know what okaa-san had placed in his room.

--------------------------

"Dark…" Daisuke gritted his teeth, glancing around the room carefully. Around him lay heaps of dropped axes, cleverly placed tripwires, for some reason, a few piles of animated gnome statues that were currently hammering their way towards his vulnerable feet, and a ticking clock.

--Yes Dai-chan?-- Dark smirked, having come out from his 'space' to come watch the fun.

"WHY did my bedroom window lead to the _bathroom_?" He half-shouted, lifting his drenched body from the filled bathtub and the steadily approaching gnomes. The clock's second hand suddenly reached the 12 and let out a shrill shriek, causing all the tiles on the floor to seemingly jump out of their holes.

Leaving Daisuke in a full bathtub with about 4 metres of empty ground separating him from the door. He could always go through the window, although he didn't really like the look of that robot bird.

Dark laughed, watching Daisuke's predicament. --This is _Emiko _we're talking about, Dai-chan. And, like they say, doors lead you to new worlds!--

"Yes, but this is not what I call a new world!" he yelled, preparing to jump across the room, using the towel rack as support. "This better automatically fix itself later!"

He took a step back, started running (not that he had that much space and all…) and was about to jump when he happened to look at the floor and see it tile-full and spotless.

"Eh?" He looked around the room, and noticed that it was all back to its normal state. Even the bathtub was starting to drain itself, the gnomes somehow melting and running down the drain. Daisuke wrinkled his nose at the sight of the deformed gnomes steadily disappearing from sight.

--That's not going to be good for the river…-- Dark muttered, shaking his head.

"What happened? Why's everything back to normal?" Daisuke asked, stepping carefully onto the tiles to test their steadiness.

--Dunno. But I'll be glad if I were you, which I am, technically.-- Dark shrugged. --Be back later, tell me when you're in another hot spot!-- he called, and winked off, once again.

"Grr…"

Daisuke left the bathroom, carefully checking the hallways, before making his way to the laundry to get some towels.

He reached their safely, and reached out to pick up a towel when-

"POOF!"

"WHAT HAPPENED?" he shouted, trying to clear away the smoke. His hands landed on a piece of paper, and he held it close to his face, reading it.

"Huh?"

_Dai-chan,_

_This is for your training routine, I think you already know. But I have hidden something very important in the house, and you have to get through the traps to be able to find it. Have fun, and I'm expecting good results!_

_Love,_

_Emiko._

_P.S. We have cameras in this house too!_

"WHAT!"

_P.P.S. The important item is one of Dark's thieving accessories!_

"…"

--Hey! What the hell? Where is that thing? Daisuke, I order you to get out there and find it now!--

---------------------------------

**Heheheh, I left the story at a…strange point, to say the least. I guess I felt I was dragging out what was originally With's day at school too long. I know some of the things seemed over exaggerated, but then again, that's me, so please R&R to let me know your opinions!**


	9. Happy Birthday!

**A Change of Sorts**

**Feeling lazy today so don't be surprised if the plot dwindles down to horrible-writingness. Combine that with homework due the next day…and yeah. Enjoy, "revelations" (thanks Melody of Shadow! I hope I'm using that properly…) await you this chapter, however lazy I may be!**

**Chapter 9: Happy Birthday!**

"…"

--…--

"…Dark…"

--Yes Dai-chan?--

"If we don't find whatever it is we're looking for in the next room, I'm gonna call the demolishers in."

--I'm with you on this one Dai-chan.--

"Ok, so it's settled." With that, Daisuke left the room, turning his back on the giant, slimy snail that was slowly oozing in the middle of the room.

-------------------------

"Please tell me this is what we're looking for." Daisuke held up a small jar of black feathers tinted with white, shaking it a bit. The feathers were pretty tiny, considering, but upon contact with the black pearl hovering in the middle of the jar, they burst into full size for a brief moment, and then returned to their tiny state.

--I believe so.--

Daisuke gave a sigh of relief, before eyeing the jar sceptically. "Dark…do you keep your feathers in _here_? I thought you had original feathers, not," he gave the jar a shake. "Ones like _these._"

--Well…yes and no.--

"Huh?"

--Those are my _special _feathers. They bring me good luck!-- Dark whined, hugging a picture of him hugging a picture of him hugging a picture of…(couple more pictures later…) a picture of him hugging a jar of black feathers.

"…"

--Well, they have special properties as well…--

"Oh…such as?"

Dark's face grew solemn. --They are the feathers that contain the events of my life in past generations.

"…"

--And they allow me to use more magic then normal feathers would.-- he added loftily. --They can cope with the amount of power the stronger spells need than the normal feathers, although I don't use them for that as much anymore. Because they drain the energy of _certain _people, ahem, ahem.-- Dark finished with a meaningful glare at Daisuke's direction, but seeing as he was inside Daisuke's head, he settled for glaring at the ceiling.

"Does that mean we're finished?" Daisuke asked hopefully. Dark nodded, before pointing out one last thing.

--Dai-chan, although I greatly appreciate you getting that back for me, I would also appreciate it if you got that baby dragon off my jar.-- he ordered, pointing to the general area of the jar.

Daisuke peered at the 'baby dragon' for a minute before giving a small chuckle of amusement.

--What? What's so funny?-- Dark glanced around frantically as if worried that the world would be thrown out of balance by Daisuke's laughing.

"Dark…that's not a dragon. That's a _salamander_." He laughed again, reaching out to pick up the offending creature.

--Good boy…-- Dark said, ignoring that last comment and watching the process attentively. --Now, drop that creature on the floor…yes that's right…now…DIE YOU STUPID THING!--

"DARK!" Daisuke winced from the loudness of Dark's voice, successfully dropping the salamander, yet nearly dropping the jar as well. "Do you want this _jar _to drop?"

--PUT THAT JAR DOWN AND JUST STEP ON THAT FREAKIN' BELLY DANCER THING!--

"Dark! It's a _salamander_, not a belly dancer!"

--DO I LOOK LIKE I GIVE A DAMN? JUST KILL THAT THING AND GIMME MY JAR!--

"…"

------------------

_The Next Day...after school, of course._

"Niwa-kun!" Daisuke turned and smiled at the person who was calling and waving to him.

"Honda-san, Yuki, Kyo, hi!" he called back, stopping to wait for them.

Tohru caught up eventually, Yuki and Kyo not far behind (funny how we always refer to Yuki before Kyo…do we like him better or what?).

"Niwa-kun, would you like to come over tomorrow? Momiji-kun is coming too, and you can meet more Sohma's tomorrow, and we'll love it if you would come too!" Tohru beamed welcomingly, waiting for Daisuke's answer.

(Strange, the way _I _put it, I make it seem like they live really far away, not just next door neighbours…)

"Uh…let's see…tomorrow…" Daisuke thought hard about what was going on tomorrow. Finally, it clicked.

Well, with the help of Dark, of course.

"Sorry Honda-san, but tomorrow my family are coming up from Azumano because tomorrow is my birthday." He told her, somewhat regretfully.

"Oh…" Tohru nodded her head slowly, and then seemed to _really _understand. "OH! That's ok, Niwa-kun! I mean, we understand perfectly fine if you want to spend time with your family, and we wouldn't want to intrude because I mean-" she babbled on and on, while Kyo slapped his forehead in the background and Yuki shook his head.

"--because I know that I would like to have some time with my family and- oh!" Tohru stopped suddenly, as if she had just thought of something. She turned to them all with a bright, cheery smile.

"Yuki-kun, Kyo-kun, is it ok if we go to Niwa-kun's house tomorrow? I would love to meet Niwa-kun's family, and we can call Momiji-kun too!" she beamed happily. "Of course, if that's alright with you Niwa-kun…" she looked to him worriedly, as if afraid that she would be punished for suggesting such an absurd thing.

Daisuke nodded to show that it was fine with him. "Sure, Honda-san. I'm sure okaa-san, otou-san, ji-chan and Towa-chan won't mind." He smiled, seeing as Tohru's face brightened.

"Thankyou Niwa-kun! I'll go tell Momiji-kun!" she waved, running off happily.

"…"

--…--

-Guess that's there's going to be a LOT happening tomorrow, right?-

--I'll say…--

---------------------------------

_Later that night…_

"Come on Dark! We've got to go steal that next item okaa-san wanted!" Daisuke yelled, apparently to himself. His face in the mirror was flushed and panicked from the thought of being late for the theft. It gradually faded out to be replaced by the image of an indifferent Thief.

"My, my Dai-chan. I've never seen you _so _enthusiastic about a theft, hmm?" he asked teasingly. Daisuke opened and closed his mouth, lost for words on how to answer this question.

"Hey, Dai-chan. Do you even _know _what we were supposed to steal?"

"No…okaa-san never said…"

"Exactly. Therefore we can't go." Dark flopped down on the astral couch inside Daisuke's head, examining the astral feathers that belonged to his precious astral jar.

"B-b-but, we're scheduled for it! And With probably took the notice along already!" Daisuke pointed somewhat accusingly at With, who was currently in the process of veging out on the couch and didn't look like he would be going anywhere anytime soon.

"No he didn't. We didn't even have a notice, and plus, he's in no condition to fly." Dark frowned as he held a feather up to his face. "Hmm…this one's missing some memories…" he muttered, waving a hand over it.

"Dark…don't you want to go out tonight? I mean, normally you can't _wait _to be in control." Daisuke was slightly suspicious of Dark's strange behaviour; wasn't _he _the one that had to persuade Dark to call it a night and come back home, while Dark would be constantly fighting to stay out?

Dark shrugged his shoulders. "Dunno. I have some business to attend to anyway." he traced the outline of one of his feathers as if remembering moments of time past.

Suddenly intrigued, Daisuke gave up and sat back down at the table; it wasn't like he looked forward to stealing items anyway.

"Soooo…Dark…" he began casually. "What do those feathers do again?"

Dark didn't seem to really notice his curiosity in his feathers, and replied absent-mindedly. "I already told you. They are capable of holding large amounts of powerful things, including events of my existence in different generations which, in case you haven't noticed, are pretty powerful in themselves." Dark paused to take a breath, and then continued.

"They also enable me to perform more powerful spells then normal feathers, because normal feathers would fade away from the amount of power. They can also do things like retrieve forgotten memories to special people, and that's only _important _forgotten memories, not just 'I can't remember where I left my keys!' type of thing.

"The most powerful spells can be performed with these, including Time."

Daisuke blinked. "Time?"

Dark nodded, his face serious. "Although they can't manipulate time that much, they are capable of bringing the user back to a particular time in the past that they remember clearly, or to the near future. However, there are many consequences and rules about using this type of magic, so it is not used so much. If these were to fall in to the wrong hands, then…" he trailed off, shaking his head.

"What could happen if those rules are broken?" Daisuke asked, although he didn't really want to know.

Dark closed his eyes, fiddling with one of his feathers. "It could result in…"

"What?"

"…death."

(A/N: Ok, now that was _weird_. My typing went out of control there, so I didn't even get my point across. I doubt that time travel stuff will have anything more to do with the story, unless…)

-------------------------

"Dai-chan! Honey, are you home?"

Daisuke peeked out at the door from his position in the living room. He smiled to himself and got up to get it.

"I'm coming, okaa-san!" He opened the door, smiling a greeting, when he was immediately smothered by a certain…over-excited mother.

"Dai-chan, honey, I'm so glad to see you're alright!" she squealed, hugging her son tightly.

"Okaa-san!" Daisuke struggled to take a deep breath of air, trying to not to be suffocated to death.

Finally, Emiko let go, seemingly oblivious to the fact that her son was taking in deep breaths of much need air.

Daisuke looked up and greeted the other members of his family.

"Otou-san, ji-chan, Towa-chan!" he smiled, watching as Towa inspected his home.

Towa turned back to him and smiled. "Happy birthday Daisuke-san!" she cheered, giving him a breath-taking hug. Literally.

"Thanks Towa-chan!" he smiled as he pulled away. The rest of his family wished him happy birthday as well, while Towa went to start preparing the birthday feast (they had brought the supplies, of course…)

"I can't believe it…" Emiko sniffed, wiping away a few tears from the corner of her eyes. "My little Dai-chan is already **17**!" she cried, as if being 17 was a horrible crime or something. Daisuke could almost see her imagining him as a full grown man in a few years time. The very thought of it made him shudder.

"It's been 3 years, Daisuke." Daiki spoke up, regarding him thoughtfully. "Dark doesn't normally stay around as long though. Strange…"

--Hey! I have great respect for Daiki, but I can stay around for as long as I want!-- Dark insisted, pouting.

"I guess…" Daisuke rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, watching as his mother and Towa hurried around the house, a delicious feast somehow beginning to form itself in that short time.

Daiki went into the kitchen to stop the girls from being overexcited and overdoing it (as usual), leaving Daisuke and Kosuke in the hallway. Kosuke indicated for Daisuke to go help Daiki, who immediately obeyed. Kosuke looked around one more time, and was about to follow them when the door slid open a tiny gap.

"…" Kosuke slid the door open, looking out.

"Happy birthday Niwa-kun!" A cheering group (well, _half_ cheering group describes it better) awaited him, those of which he assumed were the Sohma's, Daisuke's friend.

Tohru stopped mid-cheer as she noticed that the receiver of their cheers wasn't _exactly _the person who was _meant _to receive those cheers.

"Ano…is Niwa-kun in?" she asked, bowing politely.

Kosuke nodded, motioning for them to come in. "I am Kosuke Niwa, Daisuke's father." He said, introducing himself.

Tohru quickly bowed again, as if just remembering her manners. "My name is Tohru Honda! We came to wish Niwa-kun a happy birthday!" she smiled, indicating the rest of the group as 'we'.

Kosuke nodded again, looking over the group. He quietly noted that they all had rather strange hair and eye colours, not that he himself could really talk…but then again, he had thought that same family members tended to have the same eye colour, at the very least.

Once everyone was inside the house, Daisuke gave the formal introductions. "This is my okaa-san, my otou-san, my ji-chan and our…housekeeper, Towa-chan." He said, although he _had _wondered if housekeeper really was the right word for Towa…

Tohru bowed politely once again. "My name is Tohru Honda, and I'm very pleased to meet you all!"

She introduced Yuki, Kyo, Shigure and Momiji and the other 'new' Sohma's there (Haru didn't come…). "…and this is Hiro-san and Kisa-san!" she finished, indicating the two people who were standing slightly to the side.

"Very nice to meet you all!" piped up Emiko. "My name is Emiko Niwa! And my husband, Kosuke Niwa, and my otou-san, Daiki Niwa! And like Dai-chan said, Toto-chan is our housekeeper!" She beamed, and couldn't resist herself from hugging Kisa, who was peering out at her shyly.

"You are such a cute little girl!" she cried out. She pulled away and regarded Kisa at arm's length. "I bet that you have a wonderful little voice!"

Kisa blushed, and guessed that Emiko wanted to hear her talk. "T-thankyou…"

It seemed to satisfy Emiko, as she restrained herself from hugging Kisa yet again, instead going to continue with the cooking along with Towa.

"Ano, okaa-san…you better not open the oven yet…" Daisuke whispered, pointing towards the said object. Emiko blinked, confused.

"Why not, Dai-chan?"

"Because your…_things _from yesterday haven't deactivated yet. I woke up this morning in the bathtub because of what you did to my bedroom!" he whispered furiously, remembering _all _too clearly his morning.

She smiled, waving a finger in the air. "Don't worry Dai-chan! I know exactly what to do!"

She grabbed the fire extinguisher and stalked over to the oven. Confidently, she adjusted the extinguisher so that she could use it straight away, and opened the oven door. At once, a bursting of flame leapt out and she sprayed away at it cheerfully, as if she was watering the garden. A few tongues got away onto the bench but she simply used a cloth and smothered it out.

Smiling, Emiko turned to Daisuke. "Anything else, Dai-chan?"

"Uh…no." he mumbled, his face red.

"Then its all set!" she cheered, Towa joining in. "Toto-chan, let's get the birthday cake ingredients!"

Towa nodded enthusiastically, faking a small salute. "Yes ma'am!"

'_They're very…hypo, aren't they?'_

"Oh, and Dai-chan? Can you come out for a sec?" Emiko called from outside. Puzzled, Daisuke got up and followed her.

Once they were alone outside, Emiko put away the cheerful demeanour and grew serious.

"Dai-chan, I know you and Dark were supposed to go thieving last night but you didn't, because you didn't know what to steal, right?"

Daisuke nodded and she continued.

"So we have prepared these notices for all the artefacts you need to steal!" she smiled, as if proud of herself, and handed them to him. Daisuke took them and riffled through them, noting some of the names and committing them to memory.

"And we're also not too sure, but we heard that Hiwatari might be there on some of the thefts too. I think he may be keeping an eye out for notices here, so be careful, ok?"

"Ok okaa-san."

Emiko smiled, the cheerful mode turned back on. "Ok, now you go back inside, while Toto-chan and I get the feast ready!" she winked, ushering him back inside.

**--------**------

_A delicious lunch by Emiko and Towa later…_

Emiko, Kosuke and Daiki were talking to Shigure about books and whatnot, while Towa and Tohru cleaned up the last remnants of the delicious cake and food while chatting animatedly about their similar roles in the household. Momiji was wondering around the house, dragging a very, VERY angry Kyo along. Everyone else was seated in the living room, though not saying very much. Cue, awkward silence.

Finally, Daisuke broke the thick silence and spoke up, albeit rather shakily. "T-thank you all for coming. And it's very nice to meet you two, Kisa-san and Hiro-san." He smiled in a friendly way.

With (who had recovered from his state of stuffed-to-the-fullest-ness) sat perched upon his shoulder, 'kyuu'-ing happily. He hopped off his shoulder and bounded to the small girl who he remembered as 'the one who he had seen on that dark night of his master's first theft' girl.

Kisa smiled, picking up the furry creature. "Look Hiro-chan. It's Mr. Bunny again!" she cuddled him in his lap. Daisuke smiled at this, not noticing Hiro's deep scowl.

"His name is With. His favourite food is strawberries." He didn't know why but he always seemed to tell people about With's favourite foods. Perhaps he was doing it on the behalf of the bunny. Maybe With, upon his arrival in the Niwa family had placed a spell on the family's blood so that every single one of them would tell others about his favourite food upon his introduction. Maybe With was really a magical demon in disguise, and was slowly sucking the world of its gradually reducing supplies of strawberries…

Daisuke blinked; now _that _was weird. Why would he think that With would, or _could, _do that? If With had the ability to cast spells so that people would do his bidding, the spell would probably make people feed him strawberries all day long, or make him king of the strawberries, or decree that strawberries be the only food allowed to be produced in the world, and even then only _he _would have the privilege of eating them.

--…you are _strange_.--

He could do nothing but agree on this occasion.

(A/N: Whoops got sidetracked there…)

"Daisuke-san!" Towa called, popping her head around the door. "Can you come out for a moment? I need some help here…"

Daisuke obliged, excusing himself from the group to help Towa find the answer to the problem she had obviously come across.

Tohru, having finished what tasks she had set for herself, and evidently finding no more that Towa would allow her to do, joined the group, managing to convince a hyperactive bunny (the cake had too much sugar) to join them as well, which meant dragging along a very, very, very, VERY enraged Kyo.

"STOP DRAGGING ME YOU STUPID BUNNY!" he yelled, trying once again to drag himself out of the grip of the (still) hypo boy. "CAN'T YOU DRAG THAT DAMN RAT INSTEAD!"

Momiji smiled and promptly let go, causing Kyo to crash into the wall from the sudden movement.

"There you go Kyo-kun! All you had to do was ask!" he beamed, pulling out a lollipop and sucking it.

"WHY YOU LITTLE-!" Kyo sat up angrily, shaking a fist at Momiji. "WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT FOR?"

Momiji blinked innocently a couple of times, still sucking the lollipop (can't you just imagine how _cute_?). "But Kyo-kun…you asked me to let go."

"DAMNIT! I DIDN'T MEAN LIKE THAT! WHEN ARE YOU GOING TO GET SOME COMMON SENSE YOU DAMN RABBIT?"

Apparently, this little conversation was rather disturbing to some other…guests as Hiro spoke up before Momiji replied.

"You know, stupid cat. There are some other people here who would rather not be listening to your loud voice and want to be able to have some _quiet_. Not that I'll really expect you to understand, with a brain like yours." He scoffed in that calm, annoyingly knowing , smug, rude, insulting, offensive to the other person and 'I'm-always-right-so-that-makes-you-wrong-and-you-can't-tell-me-any-better' way (don't get me wrong, I like him, but sometimes…).

"And as for you, bunny boy, can't you see that I don't want to see you hyperactive? I'd _much _rather have a quiet afternoon."

"Um…" Daisuke walked back in, looking from side to side while scratching his head. "Am I interrupting something?"

Kyo snorted but did not say anything. Daisuke looked confused as he sat back down.

Instantly, Hiro turned on him.

"You _could _be a little more considerate as the host and not try to pry into other people's conversations. We have every right to stay silent about what we said when you weren't here, so you shouldn't go around trying to look into what everyone else is doing." He scowled, being as disagreeable as ever.

Daisuke's face went red at this, and he instantly stuttered and stumbled to clear his name. "I-I-I-I wasn't meaning to p-pry on anything. I was just asking if I was uh, interrupting anything…" he trailed off, embarrassed under the boy's hard glare. What was it about this boy that made him so unnerved?

"And that cake. Next time, don't put so much sugar in it. Just because some of us are young, doesn't mean that we all like to eat sugar. You could give us holes in our teeth, and then who would be blamed? You're just being stereotypical and inconsiderate, thinking that all kids love sugar. And look what it did to bunny boy!" he jerked his head at the obviously on sugar high boy, who was beaming happily.

"Can't you just _shut up _for one moment?" glared Kyo from his position against the wall. Hiro turned his eyes to the older boy, smirking slightly.

"You can't tell me to shut up, stupid cat. You're the one that's yelling and making such a racket in here. Don't you know that you're supposed to be leaving an example to the younger kids, and right now you're corrupting all of us here with your foul language?" He said in that calm, annoyingly knowing…(must I go on?)…way, raising an eyebrow.

"Why you little…" Kyo growled, stepping forward angrily, when Tohru broke in.

"Please don't fight you two. Kyo-kun, Hiro-san, please?" she begged, looking from the two of them pleadingly. An eyebrow twitched on Kyo's forehead, but nevertheless, he sat down.

"Stupid cat, no wonder you are such a sissy now." Hiro snorted, flicking his head. "You and the stupid bunny and everyone else are all softies because of _her_."

"Hiro-chan…" Kisa touched the other boy's hand softly, brown eyes asking him to stop. "Please don't be mean to nee-chan."

He softened at her touch, yet he couldn't resist a last smirk before turning his attention elsewhere.

"Ano…can I ask one thing?" Daisuke spoke up. It had been tugging at the edges of his mind for a bit, but now it was going into overdrive. "Why do you always seem to call each other by animal names?"

Now, if Daisuke had been watching properly, or if he had been properly prepared to anticipate what the reaction to his question would be, he would have noticed that just about everybody in the room had tensed, giving them a slightly…frozen look.

"Um, well, you see…" Yuki started, for once lost for words. "We, uh…"

"Don't pry into other people's business." Hiro cut in sharply, actually sounding genuinely annoyed and frustrated. "What did I just tell you about that? And you just continue to attempt to meddle with _our _family matters?"

"Just asking…" Daisuke mumbled, feeling sure that there was something going on here.

"Well next time _watch _what you ask."

"Uh, yes…"

Kyo glared at the younger boy but said nothing. Hiro ignored him, instead finding yet another thing to complain about.

"Ugh, I can still taste all that horrible sugar in my mouth." Hiro glared, making a disgusting face. Unfortunately for him, Emiko was just around the corner to hear that…

"So you don't like so much sugar?" she inquired curiously, like a cat seeing a ball of wool for the first time.

Hiro scowled. He didn't really like this lady (no real reason why). "No, didn't you hear what I just said lady? Or are you so deaf that you can't hear what's going on around you?"

Daisuke held his breath, knowing just how, err, _extreme _Emiko could be at times. And for a minute it seemed like he was right, as Emiko had an expression on that could either be a deep in thought expression, or a frown. He was guessing it was the latter, although he hoped otherwise. He almost pitied Hiro.

And then, Emiko's face softened into a huge, happy smile, much like that of when Daisuke successfully clears his training course without dying or being near dying.

"You are so _cute_!" she practically squealed, grabbing him into a bone-crushing hug. Little did she know that the other family was also expecting it to be a secret-revealing hug.

Hiro braced himself for the transformation that never game, face twisting into a scowl that showed itself clearly.

"Let go of me!" he shouted, muffled. Strange, normally by now the poof of smoke would have already arrived…

"Oh no oh no oh no oh no…" Tohru half covered her face with her hands in anticipation of what was to come. Everyone else was wide eyed, images of yet more innocent people's memories to be erased (innocent. HA).

Emiko finally obliged and let go of the poor boy, although she was still beaming happily. "You are so adorable!" she squealed again, although Hiro was quickly moving away to avoid another hug. His eyes were wide open in surprise and shock, and he was looking at his hands as if expecting them to transform into sheep feet any moment now.

Emiko happily left the room, as if proud of herself for successfully hugging yet another person in one day. She left a room of wide eyed people, contrary to one very confused boy.

"B-but…she hugged Kisa earlier…" Momiji whispered, forgetting for a minute that he was supposed to be hypo.

Daisuke gave them all confused glances, wondering why they were so surprised. After all, his okaa-san _had _only just hugged Hiro.

--There's something going on here…--

Daisuke nodded his head in agreement. -Yeah. What could it be?-

Dark shook his head to say 'I don't know', although he looked pretty curious himself. --Strange vibes, remember? Strange vibes.--

-I get the point Dark…- Daisuke sweatdropped, before quickly returning serious. -Should we ask?-

Dark thought for a minute, before shaking his head again. --Nah. One, because that Hiro kid will just have a go at you again.--

-And two?-

--Two, it's more fun when you find it out yourself.-- Dark grinned slyly, and Daisuke could already _picture _Dark sneaking up to the Sohma's.

-Well, whatever it is, Honda-san seems to know about it too.-

--Yeah…--

":humming:…di da di da…" sang Emiko cheerfully, going to rejoin the conversation with Shigure. She beamed happily, as if she had just succeeded in achieving a life time goal.

"Your little cousin is so adorable!"

Shigure laughed. "Heheheh, which cousin are you talking about? I got so many little cousins, I lose count some time!"

"Hiro-chan! He's so cute, even though he does have a fast tongue, but that makes him even cuter! I couldn't _resist _hugging him!" her beam grew wider (or brighter, however you interpret it) and she walked off again, humming still.

"Wait…a minute…" Shigure said quietly, mainly to himself. "She hugged _Hiro-kun_? B-but…she hugged Kisa-chan earlier…" he quickly hurried to the living room, expecting the worst.

Strangely enough, everything still looked normal. Well, normal if you counted a group of shocked, and evidently surprised people and one puzzled boy.

"W-w-what happened?" Shigure asked, looking around almost wildly for a little woolly sheep. But all he saw was Hiro looking big and wool-less.

"Um…" Daisuke looked from side to side nervously, thinking that this might be one of those 'family moments' Hiro was talking about. "Please excuse me." He bowed and quietly left the room, although he remained near enough to the door to listen.

-I feel like that I'm doing something wrong…-

--Hey, it's perfectly legal. They're keeping something and it's our every right to find out.--

-Are you _sure?_-

--…yes…--

-…-

He quickly jumped away as Shigure slid the door open and looked around to see if anyone was still there. He hid behind a tall vase, struggling to keep his breath quiet. He didn't quite know why he was hiding from Shigure. Instinct probably.

Shigure looked around suspiciously one more time, but eventually withdrew back into the room. The door slid closed, but he remained standing behind it to see if he could detect any kind of sound or movement from outside.

Nothing. Well, nothing that he could hear. He didn't exactly know it but he was listening for the Tamer of a professional (if not slightly old…) Phantom Thief of many centuries.

"Ok, no one there." Shigure quietly whispered, sitting down. He looked around inquisitively, his expression asking its own question.

"Well…" Tohru started nervously. "Um…Emiko-san hugged Hiro-san just before, but nothing happened. But she hugged Kisa-san earlier too. So how-?"

"Do you think she's like us too?" Momiji asked, brown eyes wide with curiosity. "Maybe that's why!" one would think that he was almost excited at this new prospect.

"I don't think so. It is unlikely to expect there be another family like us too." Yuki said thoughtfully.

Shigure chuckled dryly at the thought of the Niwa's being cursed like them. "Their attitude is very different from ours too, don't you think?"

"Don't joke. It's not funny." Yuki said quietly. "Are you going to tell Akito?"

"Do you want me to?" Shigure asked jokingly. "Or should I just pretend nothing happened until we figure it out?"

"…and that, of course, is a rhetorical question." Shigure answered his own question, waving a finger in the air. "Of course everyone wants option on-err I mean, option 2…heheheh…" he snuck off for the time being, not wanting to be decked on the head by certain grumpy boys.

---------------------

The door slid open, and a chuckling Shigure came out, hiding his confusion and own unsure thoughts about the whole situation.

He paused in the middle of closing the door behind him; for a second there, he thought he saw a flash of colour.

Shigure looked around him; no-one that he could see. Now, to decide if he wanted to check behind that tall pot plant standing there oh so innocently…

-

Daisuke held his breath as footsteps came his way. Normally, he wouldn't hide from someone like that, but with the current, confusing situation, he decided it was better that he wasn't found eavesdropping. It seemed that the Sohma's seemed pretty defensive about things like that.

An idea struck him as Shigure prepared to look behind the vase.

Maybe…

-

"Anybody there?" Shigure peeked over expecting to find someone crouched behind it. He blinked a couple of times; empty?

"Eh…?"

Unbeknownst to the puzzled author, Daisuke slid out and quietly crept over to another room as quickly as he could. He held his breath completely until he sidled into the room, before letting it out as a sigh.

-What _is _going on here?-

--Yeah, what were they going on about before?--

-I dunno.-

--Well.-- Dark faked a loud yawn, stretching his arms above his head. --You can dwell on that for as long as _you _want, but I've got better stuff to do. Later.-- and with that he, as was becoming usual of late, blinked off without a word.

Daisuke shook his head, but decided not to think about the topic too much for the moment. Maybe he'd go over it with his family later…maybe…

Quietly listening to Daisuke's thoughts in the shadowy corners of his mind, Dark frowned. There was something about the Sohma's that he couldn't quite place his finger on. Something…

--Hmm…-- he cocked his head in thought, a strange expression creeping onto his face. --I wonder…--

'_After all this time, could things still not have changed?'_

------------------------------------

**Ok, that was a weird way to end it…:stretches: ah, that took a loooooooooooooooong time! Sorry for the wait, I had a few, err, unpleasant visits from writer's block while writing this, and I've got a lot on my mind…such as homework…and many other stressful stuffs. Oh, and I've been neglecting my other stories so much. . Sorry if it was a bad chapter, but don't blame it on me:points at writer's block: XD**

**Please R&R! **

**Oh, and who thinks I'm dragging my chapters out too much? E.g. one chapter has too many events crammed in at once . **


	10. Newcomer

**A Change of Sorts**

Over to the story…BTW, on a spur of the moment thing, there is now an OC. And sorry, but I made a typo last time; she's actually 18, not 8. So please remember this!

**Chapter 10: Newcomer**

The sky was darkening when the Niwa's were preparing to leave. As they headed outside, Kosuke stopped at the door, looking back at Daisuke.

"One more thing for you Daisuke, to say happy birthday."

Kosuke motioned for him to hold out his hand and he pressed something into it. "Make good use of it, Daisuke." He told him, and then he left, waving an arm in goodbye. "Remember to tell us if something comes up."

"Thanks otou-san, I will…" he trailed off, looking at the thing in his hand. It felt cold in his hand, and from what he could see of it in the dark, it was something rather large and heavy.

He headed back to the sitting room, still observing the thing. The light was brighter here, so it gave him more of a chance to look over it properly.

"…eh?"

--…What is _that _for?--

"I…don't know…"

Sitting quite innocently in the redhead's hand was what appeared to be a glowing silver pendant, small patterns carved onto the surface of the shiny object. A single emerald was embedded in the middle of the trinket, emitting a light glow.

On closer inspection, the 'pendant' was actually a locket, and when Daisuke opened it, he could see that there was a small mirror inside, not very big, but enough to see a close-up on his own face. Opposite the mirror were small carvings, but with the poor light and tired eyes, he could not quite make out what they were exactly.

Yawning, Daisuke stretched and looked up at the ceiling. Nothing interesting there. His gaze dropped down, resting on a white envelope lying alone on the table.

…huh?

--Did your parents leave it behind or something?--

"They couldn't have…" Daisuke picked it up, seeing that it was apparently addressed to him.

A note fell out of the envelope, once he had sliced it open. Picking it up, he scanned the small writing hastily scrawled across the centre of the page, cocking his head in confusion.

_Hope that this comes in handy. Dark will know what it is._

_-Kosuke_

--…let me see that again.--

Daisuke obediently held the locket up again, moving so that he was directly under the brightest area in the room. Dark squinted at the object, frowning in confusion.

--W-wait a minute…--

"Dark?" Daisuke asked, confused. For a minute there, the Thief seemed almost wary.

He was ignored, though, as Dark continued studying the locket.

--N-no, it can't be…no…--

"Dark!"

--How…but…you…how…?--

"What?"

Daisuke would have asked more, but suddenly the green gem's light seemed to explode around them, momentarily blinding the two. When Daisuke opened his eyes again, he found that the locket was no longer in his hands.

It was around the neck of a person standing in front of him.

"W-w-what the?.!" He half yelled, jumping back in shock. Perhaps _who the _would have been a more suitable question, as the person if front of him gave their surroundings a confused glance.

Finally, Daisuke brought up enough courage to ask the nagging question in his mind.

"W-w-who," he swallowed, pushing down the uneasy feelings. "Who are you?"

The person before him turned to face him, large green eyes looking questionably into his. Her (yup, it's another girl…) short silvery-blue hair framed her small face while she crossed her arms in front of her rather defensively. She was wearing casual clothes, a blue tank top over black long pants. Hanging from one ear lobe was a dangly and twisty sort of earring, which was made of pure silver. She was slightly taller than him and appeared to be about 18 years old.

"First of all, who are _you_?" she asked back rather snappily, as if grumpy. Strange, it really clashed with the 'innocent' look.

"I'm Daisuke Niwa. Who are you?"

"Yinju." Came the short reply, as Yinju continued to observe her surroundings. Daisuke nodded slowly, trying to understand what was going on.

-Dark?-

--She's back, it seems.--

-Who is she? I mean like, who is she exactly?-

Dark frowned slightly, as if trying to find a way to tell him. --Well, she's like a uh, slightly messed up artwork, if you know what I mean.--

-Um…no?-

Dark sighed as if frustrated. --Well, most artwork creations are either a 'good guy', or a 'bad guy'. She, well…it really depends on her mood if she's gonna be a good guy or bad guy.--

-Oh…-

Daisuke paused, thinking about his next question. -Does…does she know about you?-

--Hell yeah.--

-…To what extent.-

--Look, I'm not bragging or anything, but she practically worships me.-- he replied, looking slightly put off by it. --Well, it's not really her fault, because she was made that way really. She kinda acts like a servant to me really.--

-Who created her?-

Dark half smiled. --Who else but the Hikari's?--

Daisuke half gaped in surprise. -B-b-but, wouldn't the Hikari's make an artwork that would try to kill you or something? Not to serve you!-

Dark shrugged indifferently. --Hey I already told you, she's an artwork gone wrong.--

"Hey you, Daisuke-san." A sharp voice snapped him out of his little train of thoughts to see her glaring at him. He gulped once before replying.

"Y-yes?"

She eyed him seriously for a minute, making him uneasy. Man those green eyes were freaky…

"Let me see Dark-sama."

"Uh…what!.?" His face flushed red, feeling like his secret had been exposed to the world. How did she-?

--Chill Dai-chan. Let me out and I'll sort it out.--

Daisuke nodded rather reluctantly and thought about Riku, handing control over to Dark.

Dark opened his deep amethyst eyes, glancing at the (obviously) shorter girl. She hadn't changed one bit since he last saw her.

"Dark-sama…"

"Why are you here Yinju?" he frowned, ignoring Daisuke's ranting about 'being nice to her since she doesn't know what's going on'. He almost snorted at that; no doubt she knew perfectly well what was happening.

Yinju seemed to hesitate at that, as if wondering if she should tell him or not. Eventually, she made up her mind.

"Why else? Niwa-san found me and decided that you and Daisuke-san would be better off if I was here as some sort of protection." She flicked her hair back, rather annoyed by the pace they seemed to be moving along at. A little too fast for her liking.

"That still doesn't explain everything. Where did Kosuke find you? And weren't you _destroyed_?"

Yinju's eyes flashed dangerously. "I'd rather not be talked about as if I wasn't here, _Dark-sama. _Anyway, Niwa-san found me -where else?- in your basement with all those your other precious artworks surrounding me, almost _choking _me!" she gagged, remembering that huge portrait that was covering her; it was enough to make anyone claustrophobic for a lifetime.

Dark smirked; yup, no doubt that she was still the same, only giving away information if she truly wanted to.

"Well then, all that's none of my concern. So I'll leave you and Daisuke to sort it out. Later, Yinju." He smirked once more then let Daisuke back out.

This resulted in one very clueless redhead left with a snappish artwork. Daisuke sighed, running his hand through his fiery red hair. How was he going to explain Yinju to any visitors he might have now?

"Um, Yinju-san?" he asked hesitantly, wary of her slightly cantankerous temper.

"Yeah, yeah I know, where am I going to stay during the day yadda yaddah. Don't worry, Emiko-san already arranged for me to come with you to school as your cousin." She rolled her eyes as if dismissing it as such a ridiculous idea. "Not that I can do anything else anyway." She sighed, ruffling her short hair with one hand.

"Anyway, I'll be going off to sleep now, so…later." She waved her hand and disappeared into one of the spare rooms.

-…-

--She'll be back in the morning, don't worry.--

-That's not the point.-

--Yeah, yeah I know.-- Dark stretched his hands above his head, thinking. --She's always been the kinda antisocial one. That tends to happen to those artworks that the Hikari's reject for whatever reason.--

-Um, does _Krad _know about her?-

--No duh Dai-chan.-- Dark rolled his eyes. --He's the one who tried to kill her some 200 years ago. Oh _no, _of _course _he doesn't know about her so much that he _accidentally _tried to kill her because she just _seemed _to be associated with me!--

-Dark…-

--Yeah?--

-You don't have to be so sarcastic you know.-

--Yeah but it's **so **fun torturing you Dai-chan!-- he ruffled astral Daisuke's hair a bit then petted him as if he was a dog. --Run along now and go to bed! You have school the next day!--

-No I don't! Tomorrow's Sunday!-

Dark made a motion that could have been a shrug or a nod of the head and then smirked again. --Well, trust me. You'll need _lots _of sleep with her around now!--

Daisuke grumbled, but decided to listen for Dark. "Fine then…hmph 'night Dark."

--Don't let the bed bugs bite!-- he sang oh so optimistically in reply, causing himself to be shut off for the night. He sat there in the dark, still smirking, wondering about what was in store for them both.

Hm, now that he thought about it…

He was gonna pity the doors of the house…

---------------

Sorry it's so short, but I needed to…kinda test this new situation to see how it fits in with you readers out there. So please review and tell me what you think of the newest instalment in the story, whether you like it or not, please tell me!


	11. Over a Game of Cards

**A Change of Sorts**

I'm really sorry if you didn't like the OC in it! I'm really really sorry, because I tend to do spur of the moment things and they don't always turn out very good, so I'm really really sorry, but hope you keep reading, but if you don't want to, that's fine with me then.

**Chapter 11: Over a Game of Cards...**

Two weeks had passed since Yinju had rather unceremoniously turned up in Daisuke's house, and Daisuke was feeling less uneasy around her by the day. She still didn't really talk to him much, but he wasn't going to provoke her or anything.

Yinju was actually quite helpful around the house when she wanted to be, and although she wasn't always the nicest one, she was a pretty fair and just when it came to dividing the household responsibilities. But those poor, _poor _doors!

Yinju had not agreed with them at sight, as she had little patience for such time consuming things, she had pointed out, ignoring Dark's comments that the abnormal dislike was because she couldn't understand how to work them properly. It became quite a common sight for Daisuke to be running around the house after Yinju with a toolbox.

She wasn't all that agreeable in class either. She 'appeared' to be a year older than Daisuke, but, after a lot of arguing, persuading, grumbling and countless tantrums, the principal had agreed to let her go to Daisuke's year level. She didn't want to be treated so old, apparently. Dark reckoned that when she got claustrophobia she also managed to get landed with a fear of being alone.

But no matter how many times he warned her, she always managed to come home grumbling about some argument or the other that she'd had with a teacher. Yinju's rule in school was: ask me to do something and you die.

And where had she been during Dark's thefts? Well, of course, she had wrapped a cloak around her and stayed around the sidelines, assisting in anyway possible, much to Dark's distaste. To Daisuke's surprise, she was a skilled ninja, especially in the field of stealth and offence, and slipping in and out of the shadows without warning was her specialty. A most useful helper when evading (and surprising) police. She was also a good martial artist, although personally she preferred ninja tactics.

Satoshi had turned up a few times, though he couldn't really do much, as usual. Krad had also appeared, but Dark was more wary about battling with him now, not that he showed it.

Yes, Daisuke decided, things really were settling down now. Now if only he could get by the rest of the year without anyone being too suspicious of him…perfect.

"I _told _you, carrot top; you're supposed to put a card of the same suit with everything else _unless _you don't have any more of that suit!"

Daisuke sighed; unfortunately for him, Yinju had made friends with the Sohma's group, especially with Uo, and double unfortunately, his house was the most suitable for a 'friendly' game of cards occasionally.

Occasionally being every day after school and friendly being a competitive match between Uo, Kyo, Yinju and Yuki, Tohru or Hana. Daisuke stayed on the sidelines rather than play, deciding which argument was fair and stopping any major issues between the contestants.

Recently, the group had taken to playing a game that Yinju herself had introduced; Hearts. It was fairly simple game; get rid of all your cards by playing any card of the same suit as the rest unless you no longer have that suit. If your card was the highest out of the four cards that were played in that turn, well, you get all the cards from that turn. Whoever ended up with the least amount of cards after about 10 rounds won.

That just comes to show how intense the competition between Kyo, Uo and Yinju was, seeing as such arguments could arise from such a basic game.

--I _still _can't get over how Yinju had met the others on that first day…--

Daisuke grimaced; not exactly what you'd call a warm welcome, but she still managed to make friends with Uo at least.

_**:Flashback:**_

"We have another new student with us this year. Her name is Yinju Niwa-san, and yes, she is Niwa's cousin. I expect you to all welcome her into this class."

"Yes Sensei."

"Good," The teacher looked through the list again before continuing. "Niwa-san, please take a seat next to Niwa."

Yinju glared at Mayu (she _is _their teacher, right?.!) before walking over to her seat. She felt ashamed at having to attend school, like a _human, _but she would die before admitting that she was ashamed about anything. From then on, she made it her vow to argue with anything that the teachers happened to command her to do, those horrid creatures…

-

"Hey! New kid! Come on over!" A voice called out to Yinju, and she turned around, half glaring. It was after school, and she was just about to head home after a long, confusing and argument-filled day. Her sharp green eyes met those of a long blond girl, standing next to a slightly shorter girl with long black hair and eerie, purply-black eyes.

Daisuke appeared next to her suddenly and she jumped. "Come on Yinju-san! They're really nice people!" he chirruped, pushing her over.

"Hey, let _go _of me!" she yelped, jumping away (remember? She's claustrophobic!). By then, they had already reached the group so it didn't really make much of a difference.

"Eh, so you're Yinju?" Uo asked, flicking a lock of hair out of her eyes. She glared back, not liking the offensive type stance that Uo was in.

"Yeah, and you are?"

"Whoa, chill, I'm Arisa Uotani, just call me Uo." She put her hands up as if saying 'calm down', which only served to annoy Yinju more.

"And I am Saki Hanajima. You may call me Hana." Put in Hana, her voice eerily flat. Yinju nodded, sizing up the both of them critically.

"Ha, you two are cousins but you're so different. Just like the prince and carrot top over there!" Uo laughed, jerking her head towards the incoming group.

Yinju cocked her head, curious. "They're cousins?" she asked incredulously, looking the two boys up and down.

"Yeah, hard to believe huh?"

"Not that…it's just that the orange head seems so irrelevant compared to his cousin, from what I've heard."

"He is. Oh, and that's Kyo Sohma, I call him Kyon-kyon, that's Prince Yuki Sohma, Momiji Sohma, Hatsuharu Sohma, and the most spacey person you can every meet, Tohru Honda."

"I see…"

"The prince, carrot top and Tohru all live right next door to you guys with an older guy who's a writer."

"Yes, and we have deemed it safe for our Tohru to live there."

"Uh huh…"

Yinju gave Kyo a sceptical look that was obvious as he was approaching. Kyo noticed this and instantly got mad.

"You got a problem with that, newbie?.!" He yelled, shaking a fist angrily.

"Oh shut up you carrot top!" she and Uo both shouted at the same time, causing surprised looks. Uo looked at Yinju from the corner of her eye, smirking a bit.

That only increased Kyo's anger by a mile. "You shut up Yankee!"

"I thought I was a _noob _carrot top. So you having a go at Uo now, so scared you are of taking me on!" Yinju stepped forward, smirking, pushing a bit of hair out of her eyes.

"Like you will be able to do anything, you girly noob!"

A vein twitched on Yinju's forehead, and she clenched her fists slowly, but did not say a word. She _hated _people who looked down on her. She _hated _them.

Kyo noticed her clenching her fists, and he sneered, raising his arms in an attack state. Despite the worried looks Tohru was wearing, he continued. "You think you're better than me now don't you? Well, you wanna fight noob?.!"

"Um…Yinju-san?" Daisuke asked tentatively, trying to ignore Dark's cheers of FIGHT, FIGHT, FIGHT, FIGHT in his head. He was ignored as a small smirk crept onto Yinju's face, and she raised her eyes to meet his, also taking a fighting stance.

"So you wanna fight now orange head?" she smirked, changing her position a bit.

(A/N: My knowledge of ninja style fighting is very poor, so please forgive me.)

"Oh yeah, noob." He shot back, grinning in a feral way. Haru nominated himself as the judge and stood to the side, holding some flags up. (Where did they come from?)

"3…2…1…GO!" he brought the flags down, signalling for the fight to start (I've been watching too much Pokemon…T.T).

"Kyo-kun…" Tohru's hands covered her face in fear, and Yuki shook his head, although he seemed slightly surprised.

Yinju's smirk grew wider, and she sped ahead, dodging easily when Kyo swung a fist at her. She seemed to disappear for a moment as Kyo hung in mid air, off balanced.

"What the-?" He had barely turned his head when she appeared again behind him, kicking him in the back. He fell forward, and would have probably gained serious injuries had he not been through this many times before.

Kyo was on his feet again instantly, growling angrily. Yinju grinned teasingly, enjoying this fight. "Still haven't had enough yet orange head? Or do you want to be beaten up like a doll and turned into a puppet?"

"Why you little-!" He lunged at her again but she moved aside quickly, easily dodging it.

"You're just like that damn rat Yuki. Think you're so smooth and all." He grinned, turning to face her. There was a sort of wild look in his eyes now, and he looked ready to give it his all.

Kyo swung a fist at her again, and she smirked playfully. "You just don't know when to give up do you?"

Yinju dodged, but was caught by surprised when Kyo simultaneously lashed out with a kick that caught her in the stomach.

"Argh!" she fell back painfully amid gasps of surprise and fear.

Kyo watched her struggle to her feet, smirking. "Looks like you're still not ready for this, noob."

"That's it…" she growled, looking up to meet his eyes. "You really asked for it this time…"

Before he had time to react, her hands darted to a pouch hanging from her waist and quickly removed two objects from it. She held them up, and with one sharp movement, flung them forward.

Whistling slightly as they whooshed past, the audience watched in surprise as two sharp, black things seemed to force Kyo back towards the wall, pinning him there.

"What the-?" he looked to both sides of his shoulders; the things that were pinning him there were two black ninja stars, gleaming threateningly from their position in the cloth above his shoulders.

Yinju smirked as she sauntered forward, her eyes teasing the enraged cat.

"Having fun there? My, my, I never knew a puppet could have _such _a temper." She raised an eyebrow, and walked off. Before she turned the corner though, she looked back, smiling. "That was a good warm up though. Haven't had one for a long time now."

"…"

"WHAT ARE YOU ALL STARING FOR?.! GET ME OFF THESE FREAKING THINGS NOW!"

While Tohru went over to help Kyo, Yuki went over to the surprised redhead, who seemed more stunned then them, even though he _was _her 'cousin'.

"Is she always like this?" he asked, jolting the redhead out of his thoughts. Daisuke looked up sheepishly, rubbing his head.

"I actually don't know…"

(A/N: Wait a minute. Didn't ninjas fight with swords, and knives and…thingies?.! Or was that samurais…?)

_**:End Flashback:**_

-I'd rather not remember that…-

Dark shrugged. --It was pretty funny if you asked me.--

Kyo and Yinju had a sort of truce now, although they still occasionally lunged at each other (normally Kyo at Yinju) in an attempt to beat the other, but Yinju normally won.

The thing that enraged Kyo most was the way Yinju kept taunting him, going on about 'is that the best you can do?' and 'Oh that was a good warm up. Wanna go to the _real _fight now? Oh wait, you're already unconscious?'

However, no one _ever _questioned the use of the ninja stars.

Yinju was pretty disagreeable about everything, finding some way to argue, ever way she turned. The only person she _really _listened to was Dark, but that didn't really count anyway.

"Eh? Yinju-san that's a very pretty necklace!" Tohru spoke up suddenly, noticing the little locket hanging from the said girl's neck. Yinju blinked, and then looked down at it.

"Oh this? Ah…thankyou?" She took it off and held it in her hands, thinking that it would be a compliment.

"May I see?"

"Ah, here…" Tohru took the locket gingerly, as if afraid that any wrong movement would break the fragile object. She traced her fingers around the jewel, eyes wide, and let out a small gasp when she realised that it was actually a locket.

"Oh! There's a little mirror inside here!" Tohru held it out to show Yuki, who took it interestingly. He too studied the object, glancing at the mirror slightly. After all, it was only a mirror.

Right?

Yuki moved his eyes away from it to the little carvings on the side. It seemed pretty illegible at first, but after a minute or so, he found that he could actually read it.

"?...?.!"

"Hm?" Yinju looked up at him with a bored expression not expecting to see him standing there in semi-shock and confusion. "What are you-whoa!" She was up so fast that she nearly knocked over the table in her haste. She snatched the locket out of his hands, hurriedly snapping it shut.

"Yinju-san?" Tohru asked recovering from the slight disturbance caused when the table was half uprooted.

"You have to be careful with this locket because its really old, and it also holds ma-" She was cut off by Daisuke, who poked her hurriedly.

"She means that its very fragile and easily broken, that's all!" he filled in nervously, pushing Yinju out of the room. "Ahahaha…"

Ignoring the confused glances he received, he continued until they were well out of earshot. Then he turned to Yinju, who was looking mighty furious with all that pushing and cutting off-ness.

"Yinju-san, what was all that about?" he asked, wiping his forehead in relief.

"Hey, remember, this locket is like my medium- without it, I'll cease to exist." She put her hands on her hips indignantly, having replaced the locket.

"But why did you snatch it out of Yuki's hands like that?"

"Duh-that inscription protects the locket. It places whoever reads it under a sleeping spell of a sort-only you can't wake up without, ah, assistance." She shook her head, rolling her eyes.

"The only exceptions are me, of course, and all those with magic in their blood. To those people, such as you and Dark-sama, you would be changed into your other form."

"Well…" Daisuke scratched his head. "What if those people with magic _didn't _have another form? What if it was okaa-san or something?"

Yinju shrugged. "Don't ask me. It's never happened before, so I don't see why it should now."

"Ah…I see…"

--I remember the last time someone tried to anger her and snatched away the locket. She was _so _angry; her eyes were practically growing red. Then that sucker opened the locket to tease her, and noticed the inscription.-- Dark smirked; it was actually pretty funny.

"Hey, HEY! STOP TRYING TO PEEK AT MY CARDS YOU STUPID CARROT!"

"I'M NOT LOOKING AT YOUR CARDS, YOU DAMN YANKEE! WHY WOULD I WANT TO LOOK AT THEM?.!"

"OI, YOU STAY AWAY FROM _MY _CARDS, YOU HEAR ME?"

"FREAKIN' HELL, I'M _NOT _LOOKING!"

Daisuke sighed; this was gonna be a long day…

-----------------------------

Ehehe, that was short…sorry, but I needed to sorta sum it up so far. Something interesting happens in the next chapter, I promise you that.

**ALERT, ALERT! MUST READ THIS PART!**

**And…can someone please think of something like a nickname for Yinju? 'Cause, you know how Kyo's like "Yankee, freaky girl, damn rat…" and you get the point. I'm gonna need one for Yinju cause it sounds kinda weird for Kyo to just yell out her name. Well, it's weird for me. **

So please help, and thankyou for reviews! Please R&R!

Is it just me or are they getting shorter...? Well, the next chapter should be longer, what with the actual plot line in it and all!


	12. Meetings and Mirrors

**A Change of Sorts**

Thanks for reviewing the previous chapter! You don't know how happy I am to get them! So lets all gather around for a BIG hug!

…

Maybe not, but I'm definitely feeling happy! SO you should be happy! Thanks very much to **Ashen Rose **who gave me the idea for the first part of this chapter. I hope you like it!

BTW, when I refer to 'the Sohma's', and Tohru's there as well, I'm referring to her too. It's too hard to say 'Sohma's and Tohru' all the time.

**Chapter 12: **Meetings and Mirrors

"Daisuke Niwa?" Daisuke looked up from his work as his name was called. A teacher at the door motioned for him to come out, and he obliged, somewhat hesitantly.

"There's a visitor for you." The teacher told him and Daisuke nodded, slipping outside. Who else but…

"Otou-san?"

"Kyuu!"

Kosuke nodded to his son and With gave a happy greeting from his position on Kosuke's head. How he had got here from home…he didn't know. His father indicated that they should go somewhere more private. Daisuke understood and led his father to one of those sheltered outdoor corridors.

"Why did you come all the way here otou-san?" Daisuke asked, facing him. Kosuke paused for a moment before replying.

"We found an artefact that we believe you should steal tonight instead of the one that was previously planned. This one is more dangerous, so it should be stolen and sealed with utmost caution, understood?" Daisuke nodded, glancing at the notice to see what they would be stealing tonight.

Kosuke held out a card with a drawing of a black feather on it; a sealing card. "You might need this tonight, so take it."

Daisuke nodded, taking the card.

"We intercepted With when he was on his way to post the previous notice, so With should take it now so that the police are aware of the theft tonight." With was given the notice and he happily tucked it away in who knows where in his furry body.

"Y-you mean okaa-san is here too? And ji-chan?" Daisuke asked, bewildered. -The artefact must be really dangerous for them all to come here.-

--This is going to be interesting…--

"Yes. And…the Sohma's…" Kosuke began slowly, watching the red head cock his head in confusion.

"What…what about them?" Daisuke's voice was almost a whisper now, as if afraid that he would be overheard.

"We found out th--" Kosuke quickly fell silent as they bother heard the sound of someone rounding the corner, their footsteps tapping quietly in the near silence.

"Please…" he appeared to be a man in his late teens. His short dark hair, so reminiscent of Yuki's, only brought out the paleness of his skin more. He was dressed in black, very similar to the boy's uniform. "Don't let my presence interrupt that of which you were talking about. The Sohma's, if I'm not mistaken?" he gave a small smile that did not reach his dark eyes.

The two Niwa's did not say anything as they regarded the intruder carefully. With, well aware of the man's presence, raised up on his haunches and hissed, quietly first, then much more loudly as he walked towards them.

He gave a careless glance towards With. "Your rabbit seems to not like my being here." He gave a slight bow, introducing himself. "Akito Sohma, a pleasure to meet you."

Daisuke was the first to react. He bowed back towards Akito politely. "My name is Daisuke Niwa." Kosuke nodded towards Akito.

"Kosuke Niwa."

Akito's smile became slightly crooked, earning menacing hisses from With. "I'm sorry to have disturbed your conversation. I didn't interrupt anything personal, I hope?" his eyes seemed to taunt them, knowing all too well what they were talking about.

The school seemed almost too quiet, and it suddenly seemed more cold and foreboding even though it was a pleasant day. The wind didn't whistle cheerfully; it howled as if in pain, as if it wanted to escape the presence of Akito.

Time seemed frozen this way, until the bell rang, and students began milling out of the building, bringing with them the warm and pleasant chatter that had previously been missing.

With was close to snapping now, causing Akito's eyes to swivel to him sharply. They narrowed, showing pure hatred.

"Worthless creature." He whispered menacingly.

"Daisuke-san!" a voice called to him and Yinju appeared, looking disturbed. She stopped abruptly as she noticed Akito, and her eyes also narrowed. He looked at her carelessly, as if she was not worth his acknowledgement.

"Who's he?" she asked shortly, turning to Daisuke.

"Akito Sohma, Head of the Sohma's," Akito answered for him, his small smile back in place. "And who may you be?"

Yinju's eyes grew even narrower before she answered. "Yinju Niwa."

Akito's smile faded, and he turned away. Before he left however, he looked back at them, all traces of politeness gone. "I'm sure we'll meet again, Niwa…"

Then he disappeared, blending in with the crowds of students.

Instantly, With stopped hissing, and sat back down on his haunches as if relieved. He gave a low 'kyuu' in fear, flattening himself down on Kosuke's head.

"Otou-san…?"

"I'll tell you next time Daisuke." Kosuke nodded to him. "Be careful." With that, he also disappeared, taking with him a trembling With.

**--**There's something not quite right about him…--

-Yeah…With felt it too.-

--He always had this thing about sensing evil people.--

-Yinju-san did too, by the looks of it.-

--Nah Dai-chan.-- Dark rolled his eyes. --Any idiot could feel it.--

Before he could reply, the other Sohma's appeared, removing the cold, dreary atmosphere that had settled down on them. Daisuke forced himself back to reality and gave his customary smile to them as they approached, with Tohru looking as cheerful as ever. He could not help but feel a tinge of worry for the Sohma's and Tohru.

How did the Sohma's _really _live under the orders of Akito? Away from prying eyes. Away from all those who were friends.

Away from…all those who cared.

--------------------------

--Hey Dai-chan! Ready to go stealing tonight?-- Dark called out cheerfully, working himself into hypo mode. (Yes, even the great Phantom Thief Dark has his moments…)

"Sadly, yes." Daisuke sighed, pulling on the black leather gloves. "What did otou-san say it was again?"

--It's a fairly old one. It's called Mirror of Artemis.-- Dark shrugged. --Apparently the Hikari's went through a Greek stage.-- he sniggered.

"Ok…" Daisuke wasn't sure what to make of this. "What does it do?"

--Well, from what I can remember, it's pretty much like the Sage of Sleep.--

Silence followed them. It seemed that mirrors just wouldn't leave Dark alone.

"So…" Daisuke started slowly, choosing his words. "Does it work the same way as the Sage of Sleep?"

--Sort of, but this one doesn't have another corresponding artwork with it, unlike the one Commander unceremoniously introduced to us.-- Dark coughed slightly. --And no, it will not separate us into two different beings.--

"But what _does _it do then?"

--I don't know, but it sure is dangerous though. It's your typical 'mirror-that-suck-you-into-their-world' type of mirror-- Dark grimaced. --I wouldn't like to get stuck in that though, that's for sure.--

"So…does that mean we have to seal it first?" Daisuke asked, fidgeting slightly. The longer they took sealing it, the more chances they had of getting caught.

--Yup, so remember to brace yourself nice and tightly tonight!-- Dark smirked as Daisuke groaned. It really was annoying when Dark _had _to use magic, and he couldn't do anything about it.

"Well, we might as well get going…" Daisuke mumbled unwillingly, changing into Dark. -I got a bad feeling about tonight…like something's going to happen.-

"Don't worry Dai-chan; the boogie monster isn't going to get you!" Dark grinned lazily, calling to With. As they soared through the sky, he couldn't help but frown.

He hated to admit it, but that feeling of foreboding had crept into his mind as well.

---------------------------

"Akito was at school today, did you know?" Shigure asked quietly, smiling slightly. Yuki and Kyo's eyes widened as they heard this, and Tohru gave a small gasp in surprise.

"We didn't see him though…" Tohru said her hands over her face. "I thought Akito would meet us if he came."

Shigure shook his head slowly. "Well, I'm surprised too, because I would have expected him to come to school for that reason too. But apparently he didn't."

"But…"

"Don't worry Tohru-kun. I'm sure nothing really happened, so don't get all worked about it." he assured her. Tohru nodded and changed the topic.

"When do you think Dark-san will be here?" she asked energetically. Indeed, they were standing by the museum in the near darkness, awaiting Dark's arrival. Shigure smiled and gave his thoughts on that issue.

"Eh? I thought I saw Niwa-kun over there!" Tohru cried out in surprise; sure enough, when they looked over, they noticed that distinct fiery red hair ducking behind the museum. (A/N: It's With!)

Tohru called out to him, but he didn't turn back so she ran off towards him, followed by Kyo, leaving Yuki with Shigure.

"Why did he come to school, Shigure? I know that you know something." Yuki asked the dog quietly, yet his voice was firm and steady. Shigure smiled slightly.

"He didn't exactly say what happened, but he did say something rather confusing."

"What?"

"'Those Niwa…they're meddling in business other then their own again. This time though…'" Shigure half shrugged. "That's what he said. From what I can gather, he met the Niwa's and it's not the first time."

Yuki pondered this. How could Akito ever have known the Niwa's before? And did he know something about the Niwa that they didn't?

"They were once a very large and powerful clan, the Niwa." Shigure's voice brought him back. The rat gave him a confused look. Shigure chuckled. "See? Something good _does _come out of being an author."

Yuki resisted the urge to pummel him; he needed him conscious to answer his other questions. "What else…about the Niwa?"

"Not much, but I do know of a deep conflict between the Hikari clan, which was also very powerful, and the Niwa clan."

"Hikari, Hikari…" Yuki frowned in concentration; where had he heard that before? Then, it clicked. "The Hikari are the clan that Dark steals artworks from!"

Shigure looked impressed. "Wow Yuki-kun, how did you figure that out?" If he was being sarcastic, Yuki didn't know, nor did he care for that matter. The dog was out in a matter of seconds anyway, so who bothered to find out?

But what Shigure told him was certainly interesting. Perhaps there was something that really connected Dark to the Niwa clan. After all, why else would Dark steal from the Hikari?

His thoughts were interrupted as the sounds of alarms rang shrilly across the sky, and he could see the police running into the museum frantically. Yuki sighed; he supposed he should go towards the back to find the others.

Ignoring the strange looks he was receiving, he grabbed Shigure's collar and dragged him along behind him.

--------------------

"Strange…Hiwatari should have shown up by now…" Dark muttered, looking around before tackling the alarm system. Going completely against the laws of a typical story, the Commander did not appear.

Frowning, Dark held the mirror in his hand, looking around again. "He's normally warning me to give back the object or else, by now."

-Dark…let's just get out of here!- Daisuke urged him frantically, that uneasy feeling lingering in his mind.

Dark ignored him. "And Krad appears right about now too…" he said rather purposefully. As was _un_expected, neither Krad nor Satoshi appeared. He was getting really annoyed by now.

"This completely breaks the law that as soon as I say something about my luck, they appear and destroy that luck!" he scowled, and as he was extremely pissed off by now, he did something completely reckless.

Dark smashed his elbow into the glass case that once held the Mirror of Artemis. The alarms rang out sharply, yet he stayed there, waiting impatiently.

Daisuke was screaming at him now. -DARK WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?.! GET OUT OF THERE NOW!-

This went on for many more minutes before Dark finally decided that Satoshi wasn't going to show tonight. Sighing, he knocked out the oncoming guards and exited the building. Pity, he was hoping for a bit of a chase tonight.

Dark appeared on the roof, still and smirking as he listened to the voices of the panicked guards inside. He glanced over the side of the roof, checking to make sure it was all clear.

Smirking slightly, he jumped off and landed nimbly, twirling the mirror in his hand. It was rather small, and somewhat plain, but you can't judge a book by its cover. Or a mirror by its design, as in this case.

The mirror seemed to glaze over for a minute before returning to normal. The glass flashed black in that single instant.

"Y'know, I think I might hang around a bit today. Just the usual, taunt the police, flirt with random cute girl…" his sentence trailed off as he noticed his first target. Smirking, he strolled over, surprising the girl.

"Oh! Dark-san!" It was Tohru. She blushed slightly when he smiled at her. She couldn't help it; there probably wasn't a single girl that hadn't blushed when being personally approached by Dark; even Riku had blushed a bit when Dark kissed her.

"Oi, Tohru!" a rash voice called over to her, and she turned to see Kyo running towards her, Yuki hauling an unconscious Shigure behind him. Kyo noticed Dark and glared at him, receiving an equally steady glare in return, although this one was more in mockery than out of anger.

"What did you do to her, you thief?.!" He shouted, shaking a fist comically. Dark smirked.

"Now, now, that certainly isn't a way to behave when trying to attract girls." He taunted, amethyst eyes glittering in amusement.

"Why you-!" Kyo lashed out with a kick which Dark easily dodged. A few more kicks and punches were aimed at him but none landed on the desired target.

"Oh, is it possible that you've found another opponent to fight against Dark?" a smooth voice drawled, and Dark looked up, smirking.

"Why, Krad, what a pleasant surprise! I thought you were playing hooky tonight. Naughty, naughty!" he teased, wagging a finger at him as if he was a small boy caught stealing candy.

"As if I would," he scoffed, an energy ball beginning to form itself in his hands. Dark called out to With and he flew up into the sky to meet the white angel.

"I wouldn't leave with that Mirror if I were you, Dark." Krad told him, but it wasn't in a threatening tone; it was more of 'I'm giving you a chance here, so you better take it' type of tone. Naturally, Dark ignored it.

"But, you see Krad, the world works in a very strange way. Nobody listens to threats like those anymore because they are simply useless." He laughed, dodging the energy ball that was fired at him. It landed on the ground, close to the Sohma's.

"Now, Krad. I thought we agreed that we would only use magic against each other, and won't drag any other humans into it." Dark dodged the other attacks flying towards him, bringing the battle steadily further away from those that were on the ground. Krad smirked.

"You thought wrong Dark. When have I ever agreed to something with a dumb thief like you?"

Dark pretended to be deep in thought. "Well, that day when your Tamer was almost killed from your excessive use of magic, perhaps?" he pretended to muse out loud, moving constantly away from the museum.

"You do know that he really _will _die if you keep going like this."

Krad sneered. "And when have I _ever _cared?" This time, instead of an energy ball, Krad raised a single white feather.

"Oh, going back to the classics now Krad? I had actually thought you'd given up on feathers." Dark jeered, preparing to dodge the next attack.

"Never, Dark. After all, feathers are useful for many things." He smiled, not a smirk, but an actual smile. A dark smile.

Dark frowned as the feather whistled towards him. Was it just him, or was Krad extremely off target today? Indeed, the feather was not aimed to his head, as was usual, but towards his hand, the one that held the mirror…

Too late, Dark realised Krad's motive. The feather struck the mirror, entering the glass slowly as if moving through thick water.

The mirror glowed, and Dark looked at it in almost fear. "Oh crap, I forgot to seal it!"

The light started pulling at Dark, gradually sucking in his hand, then his whole arm…Dark struggled, using his other arm to try and wrench the mirror away.

A low laugh came from Krad. "It's no use Dark; it won't stop until you're completely in the mirror. But don't worry; you won't be there for long, unlike that Sage of Sleep."

"You bastard." Dark growled. "What are you trying to do if I'm only gonna be in there for a bit?.!"

Krad looked offended. "Why else? We all know it is the Wing Master that keeps you alive. So…if I were to take care of your Tamer, without you being there…then you would simply be gone forever, with no body to return to." He laughed as Dark swore underneath his breath as he realised what Krad was trying to do.

--Daisuke, whatever you do, _don't _let Krad kill you. Just hold on to the mirror and get the hell away from him.--

-Dark, what do you mean?.!-

Dark gritted his teeth, trying to get to Daisuke before he was gone completely. --I mean, he's gonna t--- the rest of his sentence was cut off as, with a final burst of light, Dark disappeared.

"DARK!"

Daisuke nearly fell to the ground, if it wasn't for With flapping extra hard at the sudden change of people. Krad smirked as he noticed Daisuke struggling to keep airborne.

"So…looks like I'll be having quite a bit of fun." Krad drawled, already forming an energy ball. Daisuke's eyes widened as he finally grasped the situation fully, and tried to dodge Krad while attempting to get use to the wings.

"Argh!" he cried as he was hit and he fell, flipping around only just in time to land on his feet. "WITH!" the little rabbit fell onto his head, 'kyuu'-ing in pain.

Daisuke noticed the Sohma's watching them and he panicked; they would have seen the whole thing! "STAY AWAY!" he yelled out, moving back as more attacks were launched at him.

Krad's eyes narrowed as he noticed the group. "Those humans really shouldn't meddle in other people's business." He sniffed, casting a barrier around them so that they couldn't be disturbed. "After all…only one human needs to die tonight."

Daisuke was getting desperate; how could he get out with this barrier? "Hiwatari-kun! I know you're in there, so please, come out and stop Krad!" he cried out, backing away frantically. His back met something smooth and hard, and he realised that he had backed against the wall of the barrier.

"Hiwatari-kun!" he kept on yelling, desperate to get the other boy out. Krad smirked; his attempts really were pitiful.

"He can't hear you in there, Niwa. And Dark can't either from where he is. You really are pathetic without that idiot of a thief to help you." He gloated as Daisuke cried out in pain from being hit by another blast of energy.

"NIWA-KUN!" Tohru cried out loudly, distracting the angel for a minute. Daisuke's eyes widened. Hadn't they left yet?.!

"GO AWAY! YOU'LL GET HURT!" he shouted, on the verge of tears. His pleas were ignored as they started banging on the wall, trying fruitlessly to break it.

"I say you don't worry too much about those mortals, Niwa. It'll be the end of you one day, such as today."

"STAY AWAY!"

Krad's smirk faded into a scowl. "Didn't you hear me? You really are the most pathetic Wing Master I have ever met. I presume they wouldn't be so worried about you if they knew who you _really _are."

Their eyes widened. "Niwa-kun, what does he mean?.!"

Daisuke clenched his eyes shut, fighting away the tears. "It doesn't matter! Just go away or you'll get hurt!"

"I'm surprised they haven't figured it out by now. It's quite obvious really." Krad intoned, clearly enjoying this. "But I won't ruin the surprise; they'll find out eventually."

Daisuke opened his eyes, determined to get out. It seemed that only magic could be used to get out of here…but he couldn't use magic, could he? He suddenly remembered the sealing card that Kosuke had given him earlier. Maybe…if it was strong enough…surely it should be, as the Mirror of Artemis seemed a rather strong artefact.

He fumbled in his pockets for it, giving a small cry of triumph when it emerged in his hands. To hell with his secret; he needed to get out of here.

"With!"

"Kyuu!" Understanding Daisuke's intentions, With transformed once again into the black wings, clinging onto his back. Krad raised an eyebrow; so he was attempting to fight back now was he?

"I thought you had more sense in you than to fly directly into range. But no matter, it only makes it easier for me." Energy ball after energy ball flew at him, but Daisuke gritted his teeth and dodged them, finding it hard to fly well in the small space in the barrier.

When the coast was clear, he held out the Mirror determinedly. "Tell me how to get Dark out!" Krad seemed amused by his antics.

"Why would I do that?"

"Because…I have this!" Brandishing the sealing card, he threw it at Krad. It hovered before him, preventing Krad from moving. (A/N: Oops, read too much Cardcaptor Sakura…)

"You--!" The card's power activated, and it shot out at Krad, forcing him to let go of his control on the body. "I'll get you next time, Niwa!"

Satoshi fell towards the ground; luckily Krad wasn't hovering too far from it. Daisuke jumped down too, his wings turning back into With. He let out a sigh of relief as the barrier dissolved, and the night was quiet once again.

"Daisuke-san!" Yinju appeared and ran up to him, crouching on the ground next to him and shook him slightly. He coughed, and a small splatter of blood came out.

"Are you alright? Where's Dark-sama?" Daisuke nodded weakly and held out the Mirror.

"Krad…said he would be only in there tem--" he broke off, coughing painfully, then continued in a low voice. "He said Dark would only be there temporarily. But…I can't sense him…"

"…" Yinju looked at the mirror, but she had no way of telling if Dark was still trapped inside there or not. A little way from the two, Satoshi sat up, groaning and clutching his head.

Krad had used extra magic that night, to prevent him from fighting back against his control. But what Daisuke had done was effective, but alas, it was not permanent. Krad was currently deep in Satoshi's mind, weakened by the power of the sealing card.

"Dark…he's already back. But the mirror drained all his power, that's why you can't sense him." He knelt beside the two, looking in the Sohma's direction meaningfully. "We should leave before anyone starts asking questions."

"Too late…" Yinju muttered, as the Sohma's ran up to them. She glared at them, her eyes warning them to back off.

Naturally, they ignored it. "Niwa-kun, what--" Tohru started but was interrupted as Satoshi stood up and gave them a cold look.

"Yes?" Indeed, the way he was looking at her was enough to make her quail and tremble before him, for Satoshi could be very cold and forbidding at times.

"I-I-I-I um, nothing…" she looked down at her feet, embarrassed as if she was doing something wrong.

Kyo, however, was not affected by Satoshi's glare. "What the hell is happening here?.! You better explain yourselves, and you better not lie because we saw the whole thing!"

Satoshi did not flinch; he didn't even blink as he glared at Kyo. "What happened here was none of your business, and if you would please excuse us, we have other things to do than to discuss these matters with you." With the help of Yinju, he helped Daisuke up on his feet, and they left.

Daisuke looked back at the Sohma's through half closed eyes. They were standing with slightly surprised expressions, evidently shocked by what they had seen that night. But Daisuke didn't want to answer any questions they were bound to have; he was too exhausted to do any of that.

Coughing again, Daisuke leaned more heavily on Yinju as they made the long trip back home. The moon was so beautiful tonight…

-----------------------------

"Are you alright Daisuke-san?" Yinju asked anxiously as he lay in bed, still coughing a bit. He turned and smiled weakly at her, hiding his pain.

"I'll be fine Yinju-san…" he coughed again.

"_He'll be fine."_ Dark muttered from beside the bed in chibi form (chibi Dark!). _"But Krad sure won't be, the next time we meet…"_ he glared at Satoshi who was leaning against the wall, and received an equally steady glare in reply.

"It was a good thing otou-san gave us the sealing card this morning though." Daisuke smiled, looking at the others. "Otherwise, who knows what could have happened?"

"_Yeah…" _Dark sighed, running his hand through his hair in frustration. _"I officially hate all mirrors now…"_

"But Dark," Daisuke started matter-of-factly. "If it wasn't for mirrors, you wouldn't be able to be seen and to talk when you weren't in control." He looked confused. "Speaking of which…I never you could do this; I mean…like that..."

Dark shrugged. _"I can as long as I don't go too far away from you. But it does take up a lot of energy, but when you're resting, or not really doing anything, than it doesn't use up my own energy."_

"Oh…wait a minute, does that mean it uses up _my _energy?.!"

"_No, it means that I'm 'charging' like a battery."_

Dark wandered out to get some strawberries for the hungry With, poking his tongue out at Satoshi as he flew past. A moment later, there was a very indignant 'kyuu', and what sounded like a tug of war between With and a chibi Dark (he's only about as big as With).

Yinju sighed, and went out after them to help With. She didn't _always _do what Dark wanted, but then again that could have been because she wanted the strawberries herself.

There was silence, before Daisuke spoke up; he had evidently been thinking about how to put his thoughts into words.

"Eh, Hiwatari-kun, I was just wondering…" Daisuke looked out the door to make sure no one was around first before continuing. "Do you feel…something strange when you're around the Sohma's?"

Satoshi nodded. "Yes, there's a strange sort of air about the Sohma's that I've noticed in the few times I've been around them. I passed the Sohma estate today, and it seemed that the air had gone cold and dreary."

Daisuke nodded earnestly. "We met Akito-san, the head of the Sohma's, today at school, and there was that same feeling too. Do you think…?"

"That they're not letting on as much as we think? Yes, there is definitely something suspicious about them."

"But what if…" Daisuke trailed off as he looked out the window, staring at the moon outside. "What if it's more serious than we think it actually is?"

"Then it's not our problem, now is it?" Satoshi stood up and prepared to leave the room. "If they want us to know in any way, they would tell us then."

Satoshi left, pausing outside the door. He looked to his right and saw Dark fluttering outside, watching him with a peculiar expression on his face.

"You know something don't you Dark?"

Dark shook his head. _"If I once did, I certainly can't remember it properly. But there is something…often I feel magic lingering in the air after the Sohma's."_

Satoshi raised an eyebrow. "And we can prove this--how?"

Dark smirked; the smirk seemed too real and taunting for someone who didn't have their own body and was barely half a metre tall. _"I've got an inkling of an idea. It will, however, involve co-operation."_

The teen rolled his eyes. "And why would I want to help?"

Dark pretended to pout, crossing his arms. _"Why? Because you're a detective, and detectives like mysteries!"_

"I am not a detective; I'm in charge of capturing you. So if you want to keep those handcuffs off, then shut up."

Dark stuck out his tongue. _"Can't make me! It's not like you can throw someone this small in jail anyway. And you're not doing your job very well either; you were late today!"_

Satoshi rolled his eyes once more and left, ignoring the Thief's taunts. It's not like he needed to be here any longer.

Dark watched Satoshi leave, smirking. That boy was so fun to tease…his attention was shifted as he spotted a movement outside in the dark.

_Hm? Someone's out there…watching us… he thinks that he was not seen?_ Dark wondered slightly in amusement. _But I'll let him continue to think that. After all, the fun is only beginning…_

He grinned to himself, and allowed himself to disappear back into Daisuke's body.

Outside, a lean figure smiled darkly to himself.

-----------------------

Kyaa! Chibi Dark! xD

Uh…if you haven't noticed by now, my description of physical combat is very poor. I can think of nothing more than throwing feathers and such and such…

Yeah, the Niwa's secret is sorta exposed now…I rewrote the part after Dark got sucked in the mirror many times, because none of them really sounded right (it doesn't sound right now either, but yeah…). Is it just me, or does it seem a little rushed…?

One version had the whole family turning up to help! But it seemed to lose the small speck of excitement there was when the Sohma's were all nice and clueless…I feel like I did something wrong exposing Dark and Dai-chan…but please review, I will like to see what you think about it!


	13. Revelations! Well, almost

**A Change of Sorts**

Thanks for reviewing everyone, your opinions are much appreciated and welcomed! So uh, now's the awkward bit where the explanations are done…-shivers- (Yay, lucky 13!) And as to why the chapter title is _almost _revelations, well, that's cause there's still a lot about their secrets that aren't known yet.

**Chapter 13: Revelations (well, almost)**

Tohru was worried. Not just worried, but extremely confused too, what with the events of the previous night and all. Daisuke was at school, of course, looking slightly battered again, but nevertheless, he was at school.

She cast a worried look over to the redhead, but he was looking determinedly ahead. Apparently, she wasn't the only one who was searching for answers, as Kyo and Yuki were both somewhat glaring at him too.

Daisuke sighed, resting his head on his arms while half listening to the teacher; what was he going to say when the others started asking questions? He couldn't tell them, but he couldn't really not tell them either when they had seen the whole thing. It seemed the only answer was to avoid.

He sighed again; life was so hard…

------------------

"Niwa-kun!" Daisuke looked over his shoulder, looking away quickly when he noticed who it was. He shook his head and tore off, running away. It was all he could do really, run away…

Tohru dropped her hand which was waving to Daisuke, frowning distractedly. He had seemed so disturbed when she called out to him.

"Honda-san, have you seen Daisuke?" Yuki appeared beside her, and she shook her head.

"He was here before, but I don't know where he's gone. Niwa-kun…" she trailed off, but then shook her head again. "Ano, where's Kyo-kun?" she asked, changing the subject.

Yuki shrugged; he couldn't really care less where that stupid cat went but it wasn't up to him to say that; not to Tohru anyway. "I haven't seen him, but I'm going to look for Daisuke now, ok?"

Tohru nodded, and he left. She thought hard; now where would Kyo-kun be if he suddenly disappeared at lunch?

The answer clicked; smiling to herself, Tohru headed inside.

------------------

Daisuke dragged his feet along as he walked down the corridor past the hordes of chittering girls who were yapping excitedly about Dark.

"Oh my god he was _so _handsome last night!"

"I know, he was _so _cool!"

"Yeah, but did you see that white angel too?"

"Him? Oh yeah, I remember seeing him too!"

"They were battling! But then they disappeared…"

"I wonder what happened…"

Daisuke sighed and hurried along. Wasn't there a single place in this whole school that he could get some quiet? Back in Azumano, if he wanted to ever escape the chatter, he could just go up to the roof, but then again, Satoshi was always up there…

That's it! He would go up to the roof! It was bound to be empty, as he doubted anyone would actually go up there.

Slowly, he tried the door. Drat, it was locked from the outside. Daisuke frowned; he didn't really want to…but oh well.

He fiddled with it for a minute before it gave a satisfying click. He smiled and turned the knob. Wait a minute…if it was locked from the outside, wouldn't that mean someone was out there…?

Kyo started when he heard the door open. Didn't he lock it? Plus, who would come up here? Only Tohru did, when she came to look for him but how did she open the door…?

A blob of red hair popped out and looked around, ruby orbs meeting his own. They widened considerably as they noticed who it was.

"How the hell did you get up here?" he asked, looking at the door. He was _sure _that he had locked it for some privacy.

"Um…the lock wasn't very strong…" he mumbled, looking at his feet and already shuffling back out the door.

"Hey, get back here you!" he yelled, which just startled the redhead even more. Daisuke turned to run, but was stopped when he ran into Tohru who was just climbing up.

"Oh, Niwa-kun, I'm sorry!" she apologized, bowing. Daisuke bit his lip; he couldn't get out, not with the extremely narrow corridor that Tohru blocked and Kyo being outside. Finally, he sighed in resignation and stepped out of the way.

--------------------

"Well?" It was only one word, but it was enough to make Daisuke jump and fidget nervously.

"W-w-well what?"

Kyo glared at him, causing him to squirm around even more. "You know what I'm talking about so don't try act like you don't know!"

Daisuke sighed, looking out at the sky rather miserably. He didn't reply for a minute as he contemplated his answer.

-Dark…what should I do?-

--Tell them later. At your house.--

-Ok.-

Daisuke finally looked back at the others, Kyo still glaring at him fiercely. "Come to my house after school, and I'll explain, ok?" he told them quietly, and when Kyo looked ready to kill, he made his way out the door. He looked back at the two once more before hurrying out quickly.

He was beginning to wish that his okaa-san had never found out about those artefacts.

-------------------------------

"Huh…Hiwatari-kun?.!" Daisuke started as he noticed the blue-haired boy outside his house, seemingly waiting for him. Satoshi nodded at him and Yinju as they approached.

"What are you doing here?" Satoshi didn't answer but inclined his head in the direction of the house next door. Daisuke understood and smiled gratefully. "Thanks Hiwatari-kun. It would have been hard to try explaining all this on my own."

Satoshi nodded and they headed inside. Daisuke knew they would be coming over soon with Shigure, so he had to try think of the easiest way to explain it. Dark, on the other hand, didn't seem so worried.

--Hey, don't sweat it Dai-chan. Worse comes worse, we'll have to employ the use of some magic, that's all.--

-I'm not sure that I like the sound of that…-

--Well, Risa found out didn't she? And that wasn't too much of a biggie anyway.--

Daisuke bit his lip. -It's just _different_. I mean, Harada-san was one thing, but the Sohma's…-

--Sure, sure.-- Dark drawled sarcastically. --It's very different _isn't _it? Oh, and I'll just wonder why you didn't call Hiwatari over too when Risa found out! It must be _purely _coincidence that he _needs _to be here when you're explaining it to the _Sohma's_.--

Daisuke groaned to himself. Dark was really, _really _not helping.

Their conversation was interrupted as the door was practically torn off its hinges/thingies that sliding doors have when it was thrust open forcefully. Kyo stormed in, followed more slowly by the others.

"Kyo-kun, did you really have to do that…?" Shigure asked, looking at the battered door that was feeling sorry for itself.

"Shut up you stupid dog!" Kyo growled, plonking himself on to the floor. He glared at Satoshi, more out of irritation than actual loathing.

"What's _he _doing here?.!" Kyo glowered, twitching slightly in annoyance. Not that Satoshi had actually done anything to annoy him, but he certainly didn't like the way he had been dismissed the last night.

"Um, Hiwatari-kun is, um…"

"Because I'm involved with this too." Satoshi replied for him as the redhead clearly could not find a way to explain without making sense.

"Oh really now?"

"Yes."

"And how are you involved?"

"You'll see."

"Why do I have to wait?.! Why can't you just say it now?"

"Because you won't understand without hearing about it first."

"And how do you know that?"

--This could take a while…--

"Would the two of you just shut up and let Daisuke-san explain?" Yinju glared at Kyo, who glared back.

"Um, uh…" Daisuke stuttered; how would he start? "Um, Hiwatari-kun…could you start?"

Satoshi nodded, and began. "There is a particular gene in our DNA…"

_**After explaining**_

"So you're saying, that Dark is a curse in your family, passed down through the generations, and that Krad is the same in yours?" Shigure asked incredulously. The two boys nodded and the dog scratched his head, thinking it over.

'Wow,' he mused to himself. 'There really is another family that's cursed as well. It's pretty much what Momiji-kun had said.'

"And it's triggered by feelings of…love?" Tohru asked looking wide eyed from the redhead to the blue haired boy. Satoshi corrected her.

"It's love for the Niwa's, but any strong emotions for us."

"Wait a minute…" Yuki frowned. "I thought you said the _Hikari _family was the one with that bloodline. Why are you involved with it then?"

"My adopted father changed my name to Hiwatari, but I'm still a full fledged Hikari." He replied coolly, smirking slightly. As if changing him name would protect him from the Hikari curse. They seemed a little puzzled by this, but didn't ask any more questions about that.

"This is very confusing…" Tohru said, trying to sort out the mumble jumble inside her head. "So Niwa-kun is Krad-san--no wait, he's Dark-san, and Hiwatari-kun is, um, Krad-san, and they um…"

Daisuke exchanged looks with Satoshi who nodded. The blue haired boy got up and went outside while Daisuke explained. "It might be easier if Dark explained it, but Krad might try to get out because Dark's out, so we have to be careful."

They nodded, and Daisuke willed himself to change into Dark. Nothing flashy, just simply…changing. Too bad Dark was still taller than Daisuke; therefore his clothes were rather tight.

"Ah well, what'dya wanna know?" he asked, leaning back against the wall. Just his luck that he got some bit of stretching time, but Krad was right outside this house.

"First of all, why and how did you become mixed up with the Niwa's DNA?" Shigure asked curiously. Who would have really thought that the Niwa's were involved with Dark…?

"Look, even _I'm _not sure how that happened, all I know is that those Hikari's made an artwork -The Black Wings- and Krad and I are the two halves. How we mixed in the bloodline is a mystery to me."

"Y'mean an artwork is stealing other artworks while being hunted down by another artwork?" Kyo snorted. "That's just crazy."

"Correction; one artwork. The Black Wings is _one _artwork. _We _are just split into half." Dark said seriously, holding up one finger to emphasize his point. Kyo rolled his eyes.

"Whatever…"

"What about With-san?" Tohru asked, petting the little white bunny. He gave a small 'kyuu' in recognition, jumping over to Dark's shoulder. He smirked and reached over to pat him.

"With? He's like a shape shifter demon in disguise; my wings." He smirked again and With transformed, peering at them in his now feathery form.

"And…he's a useful decoy for the cops too." Dark motioned to With, who leapt forward, turning himself into another Dark. With/Dark smirked, and the two looked uncannily (not to mention freakily) alike.

"Ee…to…" They sweatdropped as With stopped acting Darkish and more like himself. It was rather freaky, seeing a Dark look-a-like acting so…un-Darkish…

"With!" Dark commanded sharply, and his familiar immediately transformed back into his cute form. He shook his head, as if ashamed of With for ruining his reputation.

"Um…may I use your bathroom?" Tohru asked timidly, as she suddenly stood up. Dark nodded, and she ran off down the hallway.

She stood by the basin, splashing water over her face.

'_I can't believe it! Niwa-kun is actually Dark-san! This is really hard to believe…and they're cursed, just like the Sohma's…'_

She paused for a minute, thinking. "I wonder…" she mused out aloud. "I hope they haven't got anyone like Akito-san commanding them. I just hope their curse isn't like the Sohma's where they have to erase other people's memories…"

Finally, she stopped and dried her face on her sleeves. _'Well, I better get back now. How long have I been in here?'_

She reappeared back in the room, plastering her cheery smile on her face. "Sorry for taking so long!"

"Sheesh, you apologize for _everything_…"Kyo muttered, leaning on his elbow. Shigure laughed.

"Of course Tohru-kun does! She's our little flower after all!"

Tohru blushed at this compliment, and accidentally tripped over her own shoes. "Oh, sorry!"

Kyo's eyes widened as Tohru landed on him. He felt that familiar sensation, that little urge that he couldn't do anything about…

'_OH NO!'_

The Sohma's gasped as a large puff of smoke erupted where Kyo was sitting. Tohru got up, and bowed repeatedly. "I'm sorry Kyo-kun, really, _really _sorry! I didn't mean to do that again!"

Dark raised an eyebrow in amusement, smirking. "Ah…I _knew _it…"

-Dark? What do you mean? What happened? Where did Kyo go?-

"Take a closer look Dai-chan." He replied, looking straight at Kyo. "Actually, y'know, you can do what I did last night and come out."

Daisuke hesitated. -I'm not sure. I don't know how to do it and plus, you said it drains energy.-

Dark rolled his eyes, "Do I _look _like I'm doing anything in particular?" Daisuke hesitated again, and then gave it a go. A minute later…

"_Whoa!"_ Daisuke nearly fell to the ground as he popped out, only the small furiously flapping red wings keeping him up. Dark looked over to him amusedly.

"Looks like you need some flying lessons there Dai-chan."

Daisuke glared at him, and then fluttered down lower where an orange cat was standing. _"Ne, where did Kyo go?"_ He asked, shielding his eyes from the smoke and looking around. The cat looked at him with wide eyes, snarling.

"What the hell?.!" It growled in Kyo's voice. Daisuke looked surprised, and fluttered back a bit.

"…"

Dark's smirk grew wider. "Looks like we're not the only ones doing some explaining here."

Daisuke looked from the cat, to the Sohma's, to Dark, and back to the cat. His first reaction was much like one that we knew.

"_Oh my god, he's been turned in to a cat!"_

---------------------------------

During all this, Satoshi was wandering outside, wondering when Dark was going to be finished. It wasn't fun hanging around out here with Krad hissing threats at Daisuke and Dark every 5 seconds or so.

It wasn't fun to be the one who had to listen to all this either.

.: Don't think that I don't know Dark is in control, Satoshi-sama:. Krad suddenly said, sulking in a corner of Satoshi's mind very un-Krad like.

"Your point being?"

Krad growled. .:That stupid idiot better be glad that sealing card took all my energy:. Satoshi was quite glad of that too.

They were silent for a minute, in which a loud 'poof' was heard. Satoshi turned and raised an eyebrow, while Krad began to get irritated.

.:That's it:. he grumbled, and before Satoshi knew it, Krad was next to him, hovering on tiny wings. His eyes widened in disbelief.

"What the hell?"

Krad smirked and zoomed into the house, much like a fly on steroids. Satoshi stared after him, shocked, before he came back to his senses and ran after him. There, he was met with a strange sight.

A little fluttering Daisuke. A smirking Dark (that wasn't so strange though). An orange cat. And one very indignant looking Krad.

Daisuke turned his head to him as he appeared and smiled. _"Oh hello Hiwatari-kun!"_ Satoshi nodded, then turned his attention to Krad, who seemed to be making threats at Dark who was simply smirking in reply.

"_**Just you wait, Dark. Next time I'll definitely kill--whoa!"** _he was cut off as a hand abruptly grabbed him by his hair and held him up, like a mouse that was being held by the tail.

Krad turned to Satoshi indignantly, flapping his wings furiously. **_"Satoshi-sama! Did you have to interrupt me?"_**

Satoshi didn't reply but looked at the cat. "What…happened?" He asked, looking back towards Dark and Daisuke.

Dark smirked. "Well, why don't we let them explain to us?"

Shigure, Yuki, Tohru and the orange cat exchanged glances; Tohru's lips were quivering and Yuki was looking bewildered. Before they made any move though…

POOF!

"Eeek! Kyo-kun!"

-------------------------

Shigure sighed, seeing that he didn't have a choice. Dark raised an eyebrow inquiringly.

"Well? We're waiting here."

Daisuke frowned up at Dark before looking back at the Sohma's. _"Um, so what just happened there…?"_ Daisuke asked, sitting on the table with With and a mini Krad glaring at him from across the table.

"Well…you can say there is a curse in our blood too." Shigure started, scratching his head. "When ever we're hugged by a person of the opposite gender, we turn into animals. I'm the dog, Yuki-kun's the rat and Kyo-kun's the cat."

"Typical that it's the zodiac animals…" Dark muttered to himself, but he was heard anyway.

"_But, if it's the zodiac, then why did Kyo turn into a cat…?" _

Dark smirked, answering for Shigure. "Because the cat was excluded from the zodiac. Remember that story, about the animals being invited to the feast? And the cat missed it because he was tricked by the rat." Here he gave a sidelong glance towards Yuki.

"How do you know that Dark?" Satoshi asked, keeping a firm hold on the end of Krad's ponytail. "Have you met them before?"

Dark shrugged. "I don't know. I might have, but I'm not really sure." Everyone gave him disbelieving looks and he protested. "Hey! You try to remember something after 300 years or so!"

Krad rolled his eyes. **_"Knowing him, he wouldn't remember something from 40 years ago."_**

"I do so!"

"_**Prove it."**_

"Well, I was with Daiki, and we uh, met, um, what was her name…?

"_Menou-san?"_ Daisuke suggested.

"Yeah, that's her!"

"_**See what I mean?"**_

"Hey, I'm better than _you _Krad!"

"**_Really, now?"_**

"Would you two just shut up?" The two stopped abruptly as Yinju glared at them, seething furiously. "You're not helping my headache any more!"

"_You've got a headache Yinju-san?"_ Daisuke asked concernedly. She nodded, still scowling.

"Hm…when could you have possibly met our family?" Shigure mused amid all this arguing.

Tohru looked up at Shigure worriedly. "Do you think that Hatori-san or someone could have…?" He shrugged, thinking.

"I don't know. It's a possibility." He murmured, and then perked up cheerfully. "I know! I'll call Haa-san right now!" He sailed over to the phone and picked it up, dialling rapidly. "I do hope you'll excuse me for using the phone…"

Daisuke shook his head quickly. _"It's no problem."_

"Just don't call _him_." Yuki growled, making Shigure momentarily freeze. He turned around, laughing nervously.

"Ahahahaha…"

"…"

"Oh hello Haa-san! Its Shigure here--wait, don't hang up! I'm being serious here!" he pleaded, clutching the phone with both hands.

"Are you busy right now? 'Cause if you aren't, do you mind coming over to Daisuke-kun's house?" Pause. "No, it's not about that. Just…come over ok? And…" Shigure looked at Yuki and Kyo out of the corner of his eyes. He whispered the last bit. "Can you bring…"

"Shigure…"

"You. Are. Going. To. Die." Kyo growled, raising a fist.

"…?"

"Ok, bye!" Shigure hung up and sat back down, laughing slightly. "They'll be right over!" he announced cheerily.

"They…?"

The dog immediately panicked. "Um, did I say they? I meant, um, _he." _He chuckled nervously.

"…"

A few minutes later, the sound of a car pulling up was heard and was followed by a knock at the door. Tohru got up to answer it, greeting the _guests _cheerfully.

"Hi Hatori-san, Ayame-san!"

An unfamiliar voice wafted in. "Why hello, Tohru-kun! So nice to see you again!" A white head peeked in the room, eyes focusing on poor, poor Yuki.

"Yuki! Oh, I bet you are absolutely speechless with delight that your dear brother has taken the time off from his busy schedule to visit you!" He cried, and would have continued if it wasn't for a hand stopping him.

(Simultaneously) "Who's he…?"

"Ayame, calm down." A calm voice ordered, and he immediately stopped and plonked himself down on a seat.

"'Gure-san, wonderful to see you again!"

"Aya, it has been so long…"

"YES!" The two appeared to start in their games again, laughing childishly.

"_Uh…"_

"…"

"…and I thought Dark was bad…"

"Hey!"

Hatori turned his attention to the strange gathering in the room. Let's go through his train of thought, shall we?

'_What is going on?'_

Ok, that was simple…

"Isn't that the Phantom Thief Dark…? And why is Niwa…so tiny?"

Dark groaned. "Do I _really _have to explain this all over again?"

"**_I thought the famous Kaitou Dark was supposed to be smooth, not some whiny idiot. Figures, really."_**

"Oh shut up Krad."

"_**Make me."**_

"Why you little--!"

"_Dark! Stop it!"_

"But Dai-chan!"

"_**Satoshi-sama, let go of me this instant!"**_

"No."

Krad glared at Dark and Dark glared back, oblivious to the 'company' they had. Dark smirked.

"Ha. I'm bigger than you."

"…_**fat ass."**_

"HEY!"

--------------------------

"I…see…" Hatori frowned after he listened to Satoshi's explanation. "And do they…?" he looked at Shigure, who nodded, and then he looked back at the others.

"Are you sure that was a good idea Shigure?" Yuki muttered, thinking about what Akito might get Hatori to do. "Telling them about the curse…"

"Don't worry Yuki-kun! _Que sera sera_!" He waved his finger around. "Anyway, I don't think Akito can do anything about it anyway. It would be slightly hard to erase the memories of those with magic in their blood."

"What did you call me here for anyway Shigure?"

"Oh, just wanted to know…" he stated casually. Hatori raised an eyebrow. "Oh, we haven't properly introduced them yet have we? This is Hatori Sohma, the dragon. And this is Ayame Sohma. He's the snake."

"Wonderful to meet my dear brother Yuki's friends. Perhaps you could stop by my shop one day…I design clothes for nurses and such, you see…" Ayame said flourishingly, ignoring the fact that his company weren't exactly 'normal'.

Hatori nodded at his name, yet his gaze was still fixed on Shigure. "What did you call me here for?"

Dark suddenly blurted out. "Hey, I remember you!" Everyone looked at Dark. "What?"

"_We met him that time I stayed home from school, remember?"_ Daisuke told him, but Dark shook his head.

"No, not from that time. I mean I've met him _before_." Daisuke frowned.

"_Well, you couldn't have met Hatori-san with ji-chan, because that was over forty years ago, and I'm sure we haven't been anywhere here before."_

Dark shrugged. "I dunno. Maybe it was one of the times I sneaked out without you knowing."

"_You--what?.!"_

"Uh, I didn't say anything!"

"_Dark!"_

"It's possible you met one of our ancestors who look like Haa-san." Shigure suggested. Dark shook his head.

"Wait, maybe it wasn't him…but I remember meeting someone with a strong magical presence. I swear, though, he was _creepy_. Even worse than creepy boy over here."

Dark ignored Satoshi's glare, instead appearing deep in thought. Hatori and Shigure exchanged glances.

"Are…you talking about…Akito-san?"

He perked up. "Oh yes, I think that's it. Yeah, it must have been him."

Daisuke looked at him disbelievingly. _"Dark…we met him just yesterday. How could you have already forgotten?"_

"Um…I was asleep?"

"_No you weren't, you were awake and talking."_

"…"

"**_What did I tell you about his memory?"_**

"Quiet, blondie."

"_**At least my hair is normal, unlike yours."**_

"Normal? You call _that _normal? What kind of self-respecting guy walks around with a friggin' cross hanging off his hair anyway? Not to mention it's insanely long."

"_**Like purple hair is normal either."**_

"Oh yeah? Look at rat boy over there."

Krad snorted. **_"And what were you saying last night about not dragging any humans into this?"_**

"That was a physical fight, this is verbal fight. I can drag anyone in that I want to. Speaking of which, blue hair isn't common either."

"It's more normal than purple hair."

"No one asked you creepy boy. Stay outta this."

"_**You just contradicted yourself you idiot of a thief."**_

"I am NOT an idiot! Krad's just a jerk!"

"**_At least I'm not a pervert like you are."_**

"I'm not a pervert! Is it my fault that every girl falls head over heels for me?"

"There they go again…"

"_Maybe I should get Dark to change back…"_

"No, let him stay. It's quite funny really…"

"…"

"**SO**, Ha'ri, do you think you've met Dark before?" Shigure asked, ignoring the arguing in the background. Hatori looked at Dark, and then thought for a minute.

"…Are you implying that I may have erased his memory once?"

All the arguing stopped abruptly as they looked at him. "You did WHAT?"

"I think I may have once, but if I did, he shouldn't be able to remember anything...I remember doing it, but I didn't know the reason why. As usual, Akito just called me to do that."

"Maybe you just suppressed his memories instead of fully erasing it…" Shigure suggested.

"Or I did something wrong."

"HELL YEAH YOU DID. I WOULD NEVER LET ANYONE ERASE _MY _MEMORY! SPEAKING OF WHICH, WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT ANYWAY? WHAT GIVES YOU RIGHT TO DO THAT?.! THAT'S IT, JUST WAIT UNTIL I GET MY HANDS ON THAT CREEP, AND I'M NOT TALKING ABOUT YOU CREEPY BOY, I'M TAKING 'BOUT THAT AKITO DUDE!"

Daisuke covered his ears and winced. "_Dark…that was _too_ loud…"_

Hatori raised an eyebrow. "Yes, I definitely did. No one else could rave on for that long in protest. It took me a long time to get him to stop too."

"WHAT?.! ARE YOU CALLING ME BOISTEROUS NOW?.!"

Krad applauded sarcastically. **_"Congratulations Dark. Your intelligence has moved up from that of an amoeba to a brick wall (1). You've managed to use a long word."_**

"…creepy boy, I'll make a deal with you. You go for Krad's head and I go for the throat."

"_**Oh, you asking for backup now?"**_

"Am I finished here yet?"

------------------------------

**Notes:**

(1): I had wanted to use that phrase for so long!Actually, I used it on my friends...but that doesn't count!

Oh…joy…a chapter done…sorry,this chapterisn't very good if you ask me.Not in the best of moods, and this chapter isn't my best either. A lot of dialogue and everyone seems OOC. And their reactions when they discover each other's secrets aren't very convincing either…

I hope you forgive me for this…jibby chapter. But please R&R anyway!


	14. His Choice

**A Change of Sorts**

Wheeee, next chappie up! Sorry it took so long to update! Things should be a bit easier to write now that I've got the secret thing out. But I'm starting to regret because I just thought of a better way I could have introduced the secrets…shame…oh well, I might be able to slip it in somehow!

**Chapter 14: His Choice**

Hatori stepped into the dark room, closing the door behind him. He bowed and knelt down respectfully before the lone figure at the window.

"Akito-sama."

"What has happened this time?" Akito asked, without looking away from the window.

Hatori bowed his head. "I'm afraid another outsider has discovered our secret."

Akito finally turned to look at him coldly. "How did this happen? And who is it?"

"It happened by accident as usual, Akito-sama. And Daisuke Niwa is the one who has found out."

"Niwa…" Akito repeated, thinking it over. A small smirk played on his lips.

Hatori felt suddenly nervous, as if he could sense Akito planning some sort of not-very-pleasant plan. He felt quite eager to get out of that room now. Finally, Akito made a decision.

"You know what you have to do Hatori."

Hatori had no choice other to obey. He kept his good eye fixed on the floor as he mentally whispered his apologies to Daisuke, Yuki and the others.

"Yes…Akito-sama."

---

"_What do you mean Dai-chan?.!" _Daisuke winced at the loud voice.

"Okaa-san, can you please not yell so loud? And I'm serious, they found out!"

"_I don't mean that, I mean their own curse! In none of our books has there been anything about another cursed family other than the Hikari and the Niwa!"_

"I don't know why they're cursed…I don't think they even know why they're cursed! I mean, we don't know why Dark is in our DNA either."

On the other end, Kosuke took the phone for a bit. _"This is quite strange Daisuke. I've never heard of another cursed family."_

Daisuke sighed. "I don't know either otou-san. But do you want me to do anything about it?"

Kosuke thought for a bit before slowly replying. "_No…no don't worry. Just keep an eye on them. We don't know everything about them yet."_

Great…now he had to act like a spy on the Sohma's…"Ok otou-san. Goodbye."

"_Goodbye Daisuke."_

Click.

Daisuke sighed again. "Jeez, everything's so confusing…why couldn't we have just stayed in Azumano and fly over here for the thefts anyway?"

--Zzzzzzzzzzzz…--

There was a new reason why Daisuke envied Dark now. Whenever things got boring or troublesome, Dark would just sleep rather than sit through them, something Daisuke could not do. If only their roles were slightly switched…

--Oi, I heard that!--

"Gah! Dark! Don't do that!"

--…--

"…Dark?"

--Trust me Daisuke, you do _not _want too be me.--

Daisuke frowned, taken aback. "H-hey, I was only kidding…"

--It ain't all fun looking 17 your whole life y'know.--

"I get the point Dark…" Daisuke mumbled, flopping down on the couch. He groaned. "My head hurts…"

--From a headache or from the stupidity of your brain?-- Dark teased, poking him mentally. Daisuke scowled.

"Nope, it hurts from having to hold someone as egotistical as you."

--That's mean…--

"Good."

Daisuke was not in a good mood, which was quite rare. And Dark took that as his cue to quickly shut himself off before he _really _pissed the redhead off. Although it was quite fun to see how annoyed the teen could really get, he didn't want to risk his hearing.

Yinju had gone out earlier, disappearing to who knows where. She seemed to be doing that a lot, although it was probably likely that she was at Uo's, engaged in another challenging game of cards.

Daisuke groaned, covering his eyes with his hand. "Ugh, I just want to sleep…"

Just as he was beginning to show the slightest signs of drifting off, he was interrupted by a conveniently timed knock on the door.

"Kyu!" With cried, poking Daisuke.

Daisuke had to hold back an unappealing grumble as he got up to get the door.  
"Coming…" he called half heartedly, one hand on the door. He pulled it open, blinking when he saw who it was.

"Sohma-kun…?" He looked up at the much taller man, eyes questioning his purpose here.

Hatori sighed, wishing he didn't have to be the one burdened with this fate. "Niwa-kun, I'm afraid there's something we have to talk about."

---

"Eh? Momiji-kun!" Tohru cried out happily, letting the younger boy in. He smiled at her, but not with his usual hyperness.

"Hello Tohru-kun, Kyo-kun, Yuki-kun, Shii-chan!"

"Momiji-kun, what are you doing here?" Shigure asked, poking his head out from his study. Momiji hesitated for a moment, before sitting down to explain his why he came here.

Tohru quietly made tea and snacks in the kitchen, while listening carefully to what Momiji was about to say. The bunny began.

"Well, I was with Ha'ri today, and he said that he was coming down here." He began, but then Shigure interrupted him.

"Haa-san's here? Why isn't he coming in?" he asked, a smile on his face which slowly faded away as Momiji shook his head.

"No, he's not coming here. He told me to come and stay at Shii-chan's house while he had to do something."

"Do what?" Tohru asked curiously, passing around the tea. Momiji trembled, tears slowly beginning to fill up his large brown eyes. "Eh?.! Momiji-kun, what's wrong?" Tohru asked frantically, leaning down to comfort the small boy. "I-I-I-Is it something I said?.! I'm sorry; you don't have to tell me if you don't want to! I-I-I mean, I was just curious, but you don't have to and I-!"

"Honda-san." Yuki interrupted gently. "I think Momiji is going to tell us."

"Eh?.!" Tohru looked at him, eyes wide, before frantically apologizing for causing such a commotion. "Oh! I'm so sorry for interrupting you and everything-!"

FOOF.

Kyo knocked Tohru on the head gently, hard enough to shut her up but not hard enough to harm her. He sighed irritably.

"Just let the damn bunny get on with it."

"O-ok…"

"Momiji-kun, what is it?" Shigure prodded gently, and Momiji sniffed twice before finally wiping away his tears.

"I saw Ha'ri go off to Daisuke-kun's house, and I-I-I-I think…I think Akito told Ha'ri to…to…to…" Momiji couldn't bring himself to say it, but it was enough. Everyone's eyes widened and Yuki stood up furiously, storming out the door.

"Yuki-kun!"

Yuki ignored him. He couldn't _believe _that another person's memory had to erased! Another person! He had expected it, but enough was enough! Too many people had suffered because of their curse, and he wouldn't stand by it any longer.

---

"There are…consequences for those who find out the Sohma's secret. Those who discover this secret are ordered to have their memory erased." Hatori looked at Daisuke sharply. "Do you understand what I'm saying?"

Daisuke gaped, his eyes wide. "I-I-I have to get my memory erased?.!"

--No…way…--

Hatori inclined his head, hiding the expression on his face. "…yes. All your memories of the Sohma secret."

"B-b-but what about Honda-san?.!"

"Tohru was an exception, but Akito-san has ordered that your memory be removed."

-Akito…-

--It all leads back to _him_.--

Daisuke hung his head, slowly registering the idea. He didn't like the thought of it, but who was he to go against the rules of the Sohma's?

--I guess this isn't the time to tell him that your family knows too.--

"Niwa-kun…" Hatori felt bad. The boy looked completely grief-stricken, and it only made him feel guiltier. But he couldn't let it affect him. Not when it was his duty to abide by Akito's rules.

"I'll give you a couple of days before I erase your memory, do you understand?"

Daisuke looked up, surprising Hatori. His eyes were no longer wide and fearful, but more set and determined. "No. We can do it now."

"Are you sure?"

He nodded firmly. "It's no use waiting when it's going to happen anyway, right?" Daisuke laughed, rubbing the back of his head. "But…"

--Daisuke, do you know what you're doing?.!--

"Please tell Akito-san that I'm sorry to have bothered your family. I promise I won't do it again after you erase my memory."

There was no change of expression on Hatori's face. Instead, he only nodded.

"If that's what you wish."

Hatori placed his forefinger and thumb on Daisuke's forehead and, after hesitating for a moment, pushed gently against it.

A white light flooded from the redhead's forehead, blinding Daisuke.

_It's so…white. I can't see anything. I guess that this is it…I wonder how okaa-san and otou-san will react…_Daisuke thought hazily as he seemed to float in a world of endless white. It was different from the Second Hand of Time though. It wasn't menacing, or trying to lure him to do anything. It just seemed to tell him to…sleep.

--_Daisuke!_-- Dark yelled, straining to hear an answer.

_Dark…? _Daisuke looked around, but was still greeted by the bright white. He couldn't see anything or anyone anywhere. Suddenly, a sharp pain hit him in the head. Daisuke clutched his head, clenching his eyes shut.

He struggled for a few seconds, before giving out a painful scream as something seemed to rip away from him, painfully.

--DAISUKE!-- Dark heard the boy's pain. He heard it, but he could not do anything about it. Soon, he felt it.

The boy had fainted.

Hatori looked at the unconscious boy sorrowfully, before gathering himself and standing up. It was time for him to leave now.

There was a gap. Without hesitation, he pushed through.

Hatori was surprised as he saw the boy on the floor slowly stir, shaking his head and sitting up. "Nngh…" he groaned, rubbing his head. Strange, no one ever woke up this quickly before.

Hatori crouched on the floor next to the redhead, keeping in mind that he probably had forgotten all about the Sohma's.

"Are you alright? You suddenly collapsed. Are you sick?" He asked, lying through his teeth. He knew perfectly well what was wrong. Daisuke looked at him with his large red eyes.

"Sohma-kun…? What are you doing here?"

Hatori didn't even flinch. "Don't worry about that. But are you alright?"

Daisuke just blinked at him, before narrowing his eyes. "Don't give me that crap Hatori. What the hell did you do to Daisuke?.!"

"What?" Hatori took a moment to realise that it wasn't actually Daisuke that he was talking to, but actually Dark.

"Damnit, why did you have to go and actually do what he told you to?.!" He lashed out, eyes blazing furiously. There was no change of expression on Hatori's face.

"I did what I had to. It was his choice in the end." He replied unemotionally, looking at Dark straight in the eye. Dark scowled, changing to his own body.

"You damn bastard. Didn't you _know _that Daisuke is that kind of person?.! Even if you told him he was going to die from cancer without needed treatment, he would tell you not to waste the freakin' stupid thing you call money on him! If you asked him to give an organ transplant to someone in desperate need, _he would just agree and give them his best wishes. _How _dense _can you get?.! Daisuke is just too damn good to bring other people down."

Hatori watched this outburst with out even seeming to care. "It's none of your business to be associated with the Sohma's. I suggest you leave before someone else gets hurt."

Despite himself, Dark smirked. "You're just like Hiwatari, aren't you?"

"What?"

"Both of you cold, closed up bastards. Pretending you don't care about anything at all." Dark looked at him steadily, still smirking.

"Who gives a damn if it's not my business? It was never mine or Krad's business to get mixed up with the feud between the Hikari and the Niwa, and here we are now. It was never our business to be brought forth from the Black Wings to play these games, and look at us now. It was never my business to become the infamous Phantom Thief, so if your business isn't my business, I might as well make it mine!"

"I'm warning you, leave before you get hurt."

"Don't think that just cause Daisuke's clueless, that I'm going to let this rest. We can do more than you think, and you never know where your next allies will come from. I will make him remember." Dark grinned, letting his body slowly shimmer and fade away.

"Count on it."

Hatori was left alone in the house, looking at the spot where Dark had previously been in. He remained silent, thinking about what Dark had said.

…

"No one has ever tried to go against the effects of having their memories removed…but then again, not everyone has another person sharing their body."

The front door was thrust open, revealing a furious boy standing at the door.

"Hatori!" Yuki yelled, glaring at the silent man. Tohru, Kyo and Shigure were behind him, with Momiji standing, head bowed, next to Yuki.

"You did it didn't you?.! _You removed his memory!_"

"Yuki-kun, it wasn't Haa-san's fault." Shigure said quietly. "He didn't make that choice."

"No, I didn't. He did." Hatori spoke up, causing all eyes to turn on him.

Yuki hissed. "Akito…"

"No." They looked surprised. "Akito-san gave the order. He made the decision to have it done today."

Tohru covered her face with her hands, quietly sobbing. "Niwa-kun…"

Silent tears ran down Momiji's face as he tried to stop them coming. He whimpered quietly, and without warning drew Tohru into a hug.

A poof of colourful smoke appeared, fading away to reveal the brunette with a small bunny crying quietly against her. Hatori looked at them somewhat sadly, before walking past them and out the door.

"Momiji, we have to leave."

"I-I-I wanna stay with Tohru-kun…" Momiji sniffed, not looking at Hatori. Hatori didn't reply, just nodded his head and turned to leave.

He was down to the part where the small walking trail joined back to the road where his car was parked when Yuki caught up with him.

"Hatori! What do you mean that he made the choice?.!" He shouted. Hatori stopped, but didn't turn around.

"Exactly what I said. He made the choice." He opened the car door and got in. Just before he closed the door, he said one last thing to Yuki.

"But, by the looks of it, this matter isn't going to rest for a long time."

Then he drove off.

Yuki stood there watching him leave, confused. What did Hatori mean? Well, he didn't know but he did know that he wasn't going to forgive Akito for this. Not ever.

---

Watching from the round window in the room, Akito smirked. It seemed that he had done his job, he mused, watching the car slow to a stop, a tall figure stepping out of it. Within minutes, a knock was heard at his door and the person entered, bowing.

"It…it is done. Daisuke Niwa's memories have been erased."

Akito smiled slowly, a cruel smile that stretched from one side of his face to the other, yet didn't reach his eyes. "Excellent job Hatori. You have done well. You may go now." he waved his hand, dismissing the doctor.

Hatori bowed and prepared to leave, hesitating for a moment. Akito noticed, and he narrowed his eyes.

"What's wrong? Is there something else you want to tell me?"

Hatori shook his head. "No, Akito-sama. Nothing else." He left the room.

Akito didn't think much of his strange behaviour. He looked back outside the window, smirking to himself.

"Maybe this shall warn them not to _ever _meddle with us again." He whispered, his cold voice disappearing into the air. "But…" He grinned humourlessly, almost crazily.

"Tohru Honda may be next."

Akito laughed darkly to himself, imagining the startled and frightened looks on everyone's faces the day he mentioned it. Not yet though, oh no. He was going to let her stay for a little longer, make them think that she would be excepted from the fate of all intruders, think that they were actually safe…the pain would only be greater the longer she stayed, and so would their fear of him. He will never let them stray away from him again.

The laughing gradually eased and he stared out malevolently at the dull sky. His dark eyes narrowed, catching sight of something outside.

Wings.

---

Ack…sorry for taking so long. The holidays are over, and it's back to school for me…I hope I didn't make this chapter seem overdramatic, or too rushed (again). Uh, please wait for the next chapter as it seems that I'm getting less and less free time these days (coughhomeworkcough) and also cause I'm working on chapters for other stories. Please update soon!

Hmmm…it seems the chapters are getting shorter.


	15. Talking

**A Change of Sorts**

Sorry for taking so long to update…I'm going through a stage of writer's block here. x( Not very good…in case you didn't know, my description of many things seem to be overdramatic. xD ok, keep reading!

**Chapter 15: Talking**

"_Daisuke!" Dark called out, searching through the blank sea of white for the younger boy. He gritted his teeth; he couldn't find the boy anywhere! _

"_Daisuke, where are you damnit?.!" Something black caught his attention, out of the corner of his eye. He turned towards it sharply._

"_Daisuke!" He found him! He banged on the smooth, translucent black bubble that the boy was suspended in, but it didn't seem to help._

"_Daisuke, wake up!"_

_Slowly, the boy's red eyes flitted open. "Hn…?"_

_The bubble slowly faded, and Daisuke floated gently to the ground. "Dark…? What are you doing here? Where are we?"_

"_Never mind about that; are you hurt?"_

"_No…just dizzy. Very, very dizzy. What happened, Dark?"_

"_It's…" Dark wasn't sure how to reply. How do you explain to someone that they had lost a good chunk of the last few days or so? "It's a long story. I'll tell you later. But first, we need to get back."_

"_Oh…ok then." Daisuke closed his eyes and he slowly faded away. Before he left the world completely, he peeked back out at Dark. _

"_Aren't you coming Dark?"_

_Dark smirked. "No. Why should I? After all, you're in control now." He watched Daisuke disappear completely, and then the bright white also shimmered away, revealing the ordinary interior of Daisuke's mind._

_Dark sat down; this was going to take a lot of explaining._

---

Daisuke sat up with a gasp, panting heavily. He shook his head, squeezing his eyes shut. What a freaky dream…and that white light too; it nearly blinded him.

--It wasn't a dream-- Dark stated bluntly from inside him. Daisuke opened his eyes and blinked.

"It wasn't?"

--No; that was _your _mind we were in. Not some weird, dream world. _Your _mind.--

"Oh…"

Daisuke unconsciously rubbed his eyes, looking around his room. "Ng…where's Yinju-san?"

--Somewhere. I don't know.--

"Dark, what happened before? What was that white room that I remembered before, and why on earth was I there?"

--Daisuke…--

"What was it Dark? What happened? Why do I feel so dizzy? And…why do I keep seeing this bright white light in my head?"

--…Don't worry about it now Daisuke. I'll explain later, after you get some rest.--

"…I suppose you're right." Daisuke mumbled, crawling under the sheets. Dark snorted.

--Of course I'm right. I'm always right.--

"G'night Dark."

--Yeah.--

The redhead was out pretty quickly. Poor kid, must be stressing to lose your memories of a whole family. Or maybe he just forgot the secret. Dark shook his head. Either way, he wasn't going to let this rest. Who did those Sohma's think they were, so high and mighty that they thought they could handle everything by themselves, when it was so obvious that they couldn't?

It seemed, Dark mused, that it was time that he - and possibly Krad - stepped into the picture.

He looked down at the sleeping redhead.

--Sorry Daisuke.-- He whispered, his incorporeal form disappearing. The boy's ruby red eyes snapped open, looking glazed. Quietly, and almost unnoticeable, a small speck of violet flickered within those red depths.

"But…I need to have a little word with someone."

---

Akito stood up, as if to welcome the winged figure hovering outside his window. He faced the angel directly, staring out at him from inside the house.

"Who are you and what do you want?"

The golden-haired angel smirked, slipping his hands into his pockets in a casual manner. "Now, now. That certainly is not the way to greet someone. Especially since I'm here to…discuss a few issues with you."

Akito narrowed his eyes coldly. "I will repeat it again. Who are you and what do you want?"

He narrowed his eyes slightly, but chose to answer it this time. "My name is Krad. And I suggest that you do not forget it."

Akito scowled. "Do not mess with me, Krad. It will not be wise to cross the God of the Sohma's."

A small, humourless smile graced Krad's features. "And what a wonderful God you are too. So wonderful, indeed," He narrowed his eyes slyly. "That your own family dares to defy your orders."

Although casually spoken, this sentence managed to infuriate Akito beyond belief. "I do not need to hear this nonsense." He spat out spitefully. "State your business--and then leave. Or I will force you."

Krad didn't seem to be affected by this threat. Instead, he simply chuckled. "Quite the contrary, Akito. It seems that you are not fit enough to even keep your family in line, let alone overpower one half of the exalted Black Wings. But," having seemingly had enough fun toying around with the God, Krad became serious. "There are matters to be discussed."

"Those of which being?"

"It has come to my attention that…you have been involved with the Niwa clan in the past. And, you see, I can not allow that to happen again."

"How may that be of your concern? You don't appear to be too concerned about the well being of the Niwa."

"Ah, but you see…" Krad smirked, fingering a white feather in his hand, seeming quite fascinated with it. This only infuriated Akito even more; it was almost like the angel was mocking him, paying closer attention to a feather than the almighty God of the Sohma's.

"This is where I must say that you are quite wrong. Quite wrong indeed." Akito did not like the look on the white-winged angel's face. Unnoticed by the God, the feather glowed palely.

"It is not the well-being of the Niwa that I am concerned with. It is the fact that you are interfering in my areas, and I do not like intruders. That is why…" He held the feather up, eyes narrowing coldly.

"I must ask you to step aside." Before Akito could retort or do anything of that sort, the feather erupted with light. In a matter of seconds, the Head of the Sohma's was out.

Krad looked at Akito coldly, seeming almost scornful towards the God lying slumped against the window.

"Perhaps this will be a lesson to you…only I may interfere with the Niwa's business." With those parting words, Krad spread his wings out wide and took off into the air a small distance away.

:_KRAD! What did you do to him?.: _Krad closed his eyes and smirked at the fright and anger in his Host's voice.

.:Why Satoshi-sama, I never thought you would be concerned…:.

:_Krad, tell me now:_

.:All I did was get him out of the way, that is all.:.

There was a sharp intake of breath from within him.

_:Did you kill him?.:_

Krad snorted. "Really Satoshi-sama, do you expect me to go as low as to completely eliminate any intruders? I am more honourable than that."

:_Krad, I'm warning you…_:

"He will not go without aid, Satoshi-sama."

As if on cue, the door slid open and a person could be seen stepping into the room quietly. Suddenly noticing the slumped figure, Hatori walked faster, eyes widening in shock when he noticed what happened.

"What…?"

---

The atmosphere in Shigure's house that day was not very bright or cheerful. Yuki seemed to be distracted from his usual calm appearance, instead looking quite agitated as he leaned on the table. Shigure, trying to restore the cheerfulness back into the house, was singing in his stupid way and sailing through the house, much to the horror of his editor. Kyo was up on the roof, staring quite gloomily out into the sky.

And what of Tohru?

She was rushing from Sohma to Sohma, trying to brighten them up while at the same time attempting to hold back the tears. She could have never imagined the shock of having a close friend have their memories erased. And she was sure that this was not a new experience for the Sohma's.

"Don't worry Mii-chan, I promise you that I'll have it done by the end of today!" Shigure nodded mock-solemnly, seated at his writing table. Mii wailed, yet dragged herself out of the house and back home, trusting the author to his word.

"Ah, poor, gullible Mii-chan…" Shigure sighed, swivelling around in his chair. In a flash, he was out of the room and back to annoying the Sohma residents.

"Kyo-kun, could you _please _go buy some milk from the milk bar? We're out of-!"

"GET IT YOURSELF YOU STUPID DOG!"

**CRASH!**

"Yuki-kun, do you think that you could possibly persuade Kyo-kun to-?"

"For once I support the stupid cat's decision."

**BOOM!**

Shigure went to his last resort. "Tohru-kun, do you think that you could ask Kyo-kun to go to the shops? Please?" Shigure begged a startled Tohru.

"Um, ano…Kyo-kun seems to be in a bad mood though…"

"Then, I suppose…that I shall never see a carton of milk in my house again." Shigure wailed dramatically, a hand against his forehead. "Oh, lovely, delicious milk…we enjoyed you while you lasted, but I guess…that this is…goodbye." With a resigned sigh, Shigure flopped down onto the ground.

Of course, Tohru immediately started panicking. "Eh, Shigure-san! Are you alright?.!"

No reply.

"E-e-e-eto, I don't think Kyo-kun will go, so I'll go get it straight away Shigure-san!" Tohru cried, pulling off her apron and rushing around the house, putting away the broom she was using to sweep the floor and searching desperately for her money.

Yuki sighed as she rushed out the door. "Honda-san…he's only kidding…" but she was already gone.

In the kitchen, Kyo stood, leaning against the refrigerator. In his hand was a carton of milk. A near-full carton of milk, that is. He gave a frustrated sigh, taking a sip of the milk.

"Stupid dog…"

Meanwhile, Tohru was already off the small walking trail and onto the main path, where she hurried along, hoping to get the milk before anything too 'drastic' happened to Shigure.

So hurried she was, indeed, that she didn't notice another person that was walking in front of her.

"Oof!" Tohru cried out, staggering backwards from the impact of the crash. She opened her eyes, looking at the other person. Her blue (?) eyes widened.

"Niwa-kun!"

Said boy looked up with large red orbs. "Eh? Honda-san?"

"Are you alright? I'm really sorry for bumping into you like that, I wasn't watching where I was going and I'm really sorry and I'm-"

"That's ok Honda-san, but I have to go now. Bye!" he called out, turning and running down to main path. Tohru watched him go, blinking.

"Niwa…kun?"

---

"Argh…I find this extremely annoying." Dark muttered, running down the path in Daisuke's form. With had disappeared off somewhere earlier, presumably when Hatori had arrived, so using his wings - and his own body - was not an option.

He stopped as the path came to a fork. Straight ahead was the town. On his left was the path that led to another, quite empty, residential area. More specifically, the Sohma estate.

He smirked, which looked quite strange on Daisuke's face. He could sense it…quite strongly too.

"Just who I was looking for." He muttered, taking off at a run down one of the paths.

---

_Ring, ring. Ring, ring._

Sailing over cheerfully to the phone, Shigure picked it up. "Hello, Sohma residence!"

The dog listened seemingly happily for a minute, occasionally bobbing his head in agreement. Outside the room, on the veranda, Yuki leaned against the wall, listening.

Kyo paused on his way downstairs, his alert cat ears picking up the tiny voice that was Hatori's over the phone. The house was silent except for Shigure's occasional 'ahs' and 'I sees', as all of them, somewhat unconsciously, listened to the conversation.

For a minute, there was a pause. Shigure blinked a few times. "What was that Haa-san? What? He's…in a coma?"

A sharp intake of breath was heard from outside, but the dog ignored it. "How? Who did it? Was it some sort of accident?"

This went on for a few minutes, the conversation now indecipherable by the two eavesdroppers, before Shigure finally said his goodbyes quietly and replaced the phone.

At the same time, Yuki and Kyo both entered the room. "What happened?" Yuki asked immediately, frowning when Shigure half shrugged his shoulders.

"Apparently, Akito's in a coma."

"_How_?"

"Absolutely no idea, according to Haa-san. He just came into the room and saw him lying there at the window." Shigure waved his hand indifferently. "I'm sure it was another one of his medical conditions Yuki, probably nothing serious."

He didn't really notice Kyo's curses that were being muttered under his breath.

---

"You…"

"What do you want?"

"We need to talk."

"…really now…"

---

-Twitching- What…a lame…cliffy…Dx sorry for taking so long. Writer's block mixed with school is NOT good. :( And in case you didn't notice, Krad's character has taken a major mood shift from chapter 13. xD Please R&R!


	16. Jewel of Diversity

**A Change of Sorts**

Sorry for taking so long. Been working on other stories, and been trying to convince myself to get around to doing my homework. Oh, and thanks to **Heart's Door **who pointed out Tohru's eyes were brown. I wasn't too sure of that. Anyway…

**Chapter 16: Jewel of Diversity**

Satoshi sighed, leaning against the trunk of a tree, looking exhausted. One blue eye was open and watching the redhead who was sitting at the base of another tree nearby. Of course, it wasn't really the redhead in control at the moment; he was talking to Dark.

They stood/sat in silence, while Dark contemplated how to say what he wanted to say, and Satoshi got increasingly annoyed. Indeed, after 5 minutes, and eyebrow was twitching ever so slightly.

"Dark…" he growled. "If you're not going to say anything, I'm going to leave. I have enough on my mind as it is already."

When Dark did not say anything, he pushed off against the tree and started walking down the path, away from the Thief.

When Satoshi was seriously starting to think that even talking to Dark was a waste of time, his voice drifted over to him.

"Daisuke's memory has been erased." This stopped Satoshi in his tracks. Turning his head slightly so he was looking at Dark, he raised an eyebrow for him to continue.

"His memory of their secret has been erased. Putting me in a difficult situation as to how I'm going to answer his questions."

"Can't you just tell him again?"

Dark sighed. "What's the point of doing that? It's obvious that some action needs to be taken. And I," The infamous smirk appeared once again. "Believe I know a way of doing so."

Satoshi rolled his eyes, although he did turn back to face Dark again. "Like I said before, it's not our business to interfere with their's."

"…" Dark frowned, not wanting to go into his opinion about messing with other people's business again (he had already done it once that time with Hatori). So instead, all he did was mutter something along the line of 'cold bastards.'

"What?"

Dark dismissed it with a wave of his hand. "But what I mean is, if we _don't _step in and do something, things will be the same, generation after generation. Our _interference _could end up being the key to helping their curse."

Satoshi still couldn't find any logic in this. "How does this benefit us in any way?"

Dark shrugged. "It doesn't, I guess. **But**," he quickly said, noticing the unconvinced look on Satoshi's face. "We're **helping **them. And it's a more subtle way for Daisuke to get his memory back anyway."

"…" Blue eyes closed in thought.

Dark, seeing that the blue-haired boy still needed the slightest bit of convincing, decided to use his last resort. Shuddering slightly in embarrassment, he got to work.

(Don't forget, he's still in Daisuke's body.)

"Please…" His voice came out as Daisuke's now, not his own. Satoshi opened his eyes in surprise, looking at the redhead. Ruby red eyes were wide and pleading, and it was the most desperate and helpless look he had ever seen. "Hiwatari-kun…please help me." A sniffle, with the underlying hint of a gag. "Hiwatari-kun…"

Satoshi was speechless. Not only was he finding it hard to say no to that look, he was somewhat surprised that Dark was willing to go to these lengths to get him to consent (yeah, all that previous cuteness stuff was Dark.). He frowned, weighing out the pros and cons of helping.

Pros:…he'll have to get back to that.

Cons: Interfering with a business he did not want to get involved with. Having to cooperate with _Dark_, and knowing for sure that Krad was going to try interfering. Not to mention that it would give him a severe migraine.

Oh, he had a few pros now. It could probably help Daisuke's memory…and he could always have a good time teasing Dark about that cute act before, which had surely put him through a lot of shame and humiliation (actually, right now, Dark was practically hanging his head in shame). He smirked; yeah, he would be willing to go through it just to relish in the thought of reminding Dark of that moment…

"Fine, I'll help." Of course, he would _never _admit that he enjoyed doing something like that to Dark of all people.

Dark sighed in relief. If that acting like Daisuke bit had been ineffective, he would have practically killed himself.

"But…if Niwa's memory got erased, how come mine didn't?"

Dark shrugged indifferently. "Probably cause they didn't know how to track you?"

Satoshi rolled his eyes. "Alright, tell me what plan you have in mind."

Dark smirked, bringing out a paper which appeared to have lines and lines of information on it. Satoshi leaned over, reading the title. He gasped, and his eyes widened.

"You're planning to use _that_?.!"

---

Tohru returned home, carton of milk in her hand. "I'm home!" she announced cheerfully. Silence greeted her.

"Eh?" She peered into each of the rooms in turn. "Shigure-san? Yuki-kun? Kyo-kun?"

The whole house was empty. She even checked the roof for Kyo, and went back to see if Yuki was at the secret base, but none of them were to be seen. Sighing in worry, she sat down at the table.

"I hope they're alright…"

It was then that she noticed an envelope lying on the table with her name on it. Brown eyes blinking in curiosity, she opened it and read it.

_To our dearest flower, Tohru-kun _(it was here that she discerned that it was Shigure who wrote the letter.)

_I hope you're not too alarmed that we're not at home; with luck, you would not have called the police, Ha'ri or Mii-chan (she would kill me) yet. Sorry for disappearing so suddenly; there was some business at the main house that we needed to attend to, and we will be gone for 2 days. I hope you will be alright, and we'll tell you what happened when we come back. Now, remember to lock all the windows when you're home, especially at night. Don't forget to lock the door when you go out and…_

The letter went on in that fashion for awhile, before it ended with best wishes from Shigure, Yuki, Kyo and (for some strange reason) Ayame. Tohru put the letter down in thought, wondering what was so important that they all had to go to.

"But…I thought Kyo-kun was not allowed to go to the main house…"

She looked down at the letter again. Scribbled at the bottom, in what she assumed was rush, was Shigure's handwriting (again).

_You might be wondering why Kyo-kun had to go too; it's because it's a whole zodiac family thing, and even though he isn't allowed to enter the main house, Ha'ri wants him to go anyway._

"That…didn't really make sense…"

Tohru sat there, wandering what she should do. In the end, she decided to go over and visit Daisuke and see how he was doing.

But, to her disappointment, no-one was home. Not even the cute little With's cry was heard.

Tohru turned around, looking balefully at the sky. "…I hope Niwa-kun is alright…"

---

Satoshi stared at Dark in disbelief. "You have got to be kidding me. You seriously want to use this to 'help' them?"

Dark shrugged, looking back down at the information. "Yeah, why not? I mean, it _will _help them won't it?"

Satoshi sighed in frustration. "Hikari artworks are strong and unpredictable. I thought that _you_, of all people, would know that already."

"But it _can't _fail!" Dark protested. Satoshi glared at him angrily.

"Admit it Dark. It can, and it most likely _will_. That's the reason why the first purpose it was created for didn't work."

"I don't see how that has anything to do with this."

This time, Satoshi almost yelled what he had to say. "This," he jabbed a finger at the title of the artwork. "The 'Jewel of Diversity', was created by my ancestors to rid themselves of the Hikari curse! And it failed! All it did was make Krad stronger than before and extend his time on earth! It will do nothing other than to worsen the situation."

"Oh," Dark had a sly look on his face. "But we can turn this situation to our advantage. Allow me to explain…"

"The Jewel of Diversity, as you said, _did _fail in separating the Hikari and Krad. But, like you also said, it strengthened him, making him stronger than ever. In other words, it provided him with more magical power- and more time - in the human world."

Dark was right; after the Hikari tried to use the Jewel to separate themselves, they found out that the amount of time Krad lived for was extended. Previously, he would disappear when Dark either was killed (which had yet to happen), or disappeared from that generation of Niwa's. After the Jewel came in, Krad stayed with his Tamer for longer, which was what drove most Hikari Tamers to death.

"So you could say the Jewel is like a power up to him, and it obviously doesn't work in separating two beings."

"Then how is it supposed to do _anything_?" Satoshi asked, getting irritated. It would not work. It had backfired last time, and was more than likely to do so again.

Dark tsked. "Let me finish, soushirei-dono." Blue eyes glared at him, but he ignored it.

"But what we're trying to do here, is not to separate the Sohma's from their cursed forms. We can't exactly do that, since it is still _them_ in their animal forms. Its not like there is another mind living in them like is our case. So…"

A finger traced along the words on the paper that stated 'the Jewel failed in separating the two beings, only serving to revitalize the curse.'

"Say we decided to…reverse the properties of the Jewel. Say that…a complete opposite of it was made by one of the Hikari,' a sly glance was thrown in Satoshi's direction. "And, instead of giving it more life…"

"…It killed the other being." Satoshi finished, eyes wide at the possibility.

Dark smirked triumphantly. "Exactly."

"But how can we reverse what it can do?"

A finger was pointed in Satoshi's direction. Dark frowned. "Really, Commander, I thought you would be brighter than that. You, as a Hikari, are capable of making an artefact exactly like this Jewel, but alter its magical properties."

"…"

"So, what do you say, Commander Hikari?" Dark asked teasingly, calling him by his real name on purpose. "You gotta admit, genius plans like this _only _come from the almighty Dark Mousy."

"In the end though, it would have to be killed, won't it? You would have to seal it away, and destroy the artwork."

Dark frowned. "Oh, right. I forgot that the Hikari were sensitive about killing their artworks."

Satoshi's mind was in turmoil. He had to admit, it was a pretty good idea, and it could possibly - even if there was only the smallest of chances - work. He, however, was hesitant about the future of the artwork. It could not be allowed to live, certainly not something as dangerous as being capable of killing another being. But, it had taken almost all his effort to attempt to destroy the Second Hand of Time, it would be even harder to destroy something of his _own_ creation.

He stared at his hands. He knew what those hands could do; they could create a living spirit, mould it and manipulate it and, eventually, destroy it. The idea filled him with a sort of disgust, but he did say he would help…

Dark watched Satoshi closely, seeing if he could detect a kind of reaction from the boy. He knew that the boy was reluctant about creating something that was alive, but for god's sake, they were _helping _people here!

"Well, what do you say?"

He heard a snort. Dark looked up at Satoshi, only to find not the blue-haired commander standing there, but his other half, white wings unfurling themselves around the golden haired almost-angel.

"Krad!" Strange though, normally there was a great deal of (overdramatic) moaning and pain from Satoshi as Krad forced his way out.

Krad shrugged, as if reading his mind. "It was easy this time; all his barriers and defences were down. His mind was in too much of a conflict to stay alert. And I wanted to have my say in this as well."

Dark eyed Krad warily. "What do you want Krad? I hope you're not asking for another fight."

It was quite a strange sight, seeing the two near each other (even though one of them wasn't in his own form) without breaking out in fighting (or one of them being choked by the other). Indeed, it was an almost calm scene, and probably the first that the two of them had had around each other for a long time now. If Emiko had come along and seen them like this, she would have immediately screamed murder at Krad and 'rescued her darling, baby boy from him'. Probably.

Krad threw him a disgusted look and ignored the question. Instead, he picked up the piece of paper, eyeing it with loathe.

"The Jewel of Diversity…it's a powerful artwork." He threw it to the ground. "Even if you do succeed in making it's opposite, and use it on those Sohma's, the possible side-effects are that they themselves will also be harmed."

"But…surely the sacrifice would be minor compared to the long-termed results. After all," he glanced up at Krad. "You took the same risks when it was used on you."

A sigh escaped the angel. "True…but the consequences can be quite severe on a normal human. The Jewel is merciless when dealing out magic."

Dark smirked. "Of course, I know that well. But you didn't care, did you? That cross…" he fingered the cross hung at the end of Krad's hair. "Is proof enough."

Krad glared at him, yanking his cross out of Dark's hands. He crossed his arms again, though he kept the cross out of Dark's reach.

"What I'm saying is that your attempt to help the cursed family is useless. They obviously don't want the help. And the Hikari's gift is not something to be used lightly, Dark Mousy."

Dark frowned. "How would you know what they want or don't want?"

Krad smirked. "Only a matter of personal experience…"

"You know you're just going to end up assisting Satoshi in making it anyway." Dark shrugged. "It's just that little habit of helping the Hikari in making their creations that you never got out of."

The blonde sniffed. "I plan to stay out of this as much as I can."

Dark grinned, while Krad gave control back to Satoshi. "Which, of course, is his way of saying that he'll be a part of this plan, like it or not."

Satoshi slid down on to the floor, half shocked, half in disbelief. "Was…was it just me or was Krad talking _normally _to you without the two of you trying to kill each other?"

"Hey, we're not _always _the bloodthirsty idiots that we're perceived to be you know." Dark complained indignantly. "But, I gotta admit, he did seem calmer than usual today."

"And for once, his opinion had nothing to do about killing anyone…"

"What did Krad mean by personal experience anyway?" Dark asked curiously. Satoshi looked away.

"Today…before you got here…Krad took control of my body and went over to the Sohma estate. He…put their Head in a coma."

Dark raised an eyebrow amusedly. "Why?"

"Apparently, he found the fact that Akito's 'interference with the Niwa in the past' a bit of an insult. He considered himself the only one allowed to do anything of harm to them."

Dark snorted. "Really, that's just like him."

"Akito didn't seem too happy about having anyone intruding on their family either. After all, he does order the memories of every outsider who has discovered their secret, save for Tohru Honda."

"Hm…how strangely fascinating."

It was hard to tell if that was intended to be sarcastic or not. But no matter. Satoshi had some questions of his own to ask.

"What did you mean, when you talked to Krad about the consequences of using the Jewel, and that he took the risks as well?"

Dark sighed, allowing his body to shift in to his own form. He ran a hand through long purple locks.

"When the Hikari used the Jewel of Diversity on Krad…they weren't as much in control as they thought they were. They thought that they were taking Krad unawares, that Krad wouldn't know what was happening, but…Krad had watched them through the whole process of making it. The Hikari had wondered why Krad hadn't stepped in and destroyed their attempt at ridding themselves of him, like he had done before.

"The reason why Krad let them complete the artwork, and even use it, was because he knew there was a flaw in what they were making. Like I said, Krad is drawn to art, like I am, only in different ways. Krad often gives advice to his Tamer about how to improve on that of which they're creating, and is sometimes even possessive of the finished results because he, like almost every other person in the world, is drawn to the Hikari arts. He wants the creations to be completed, perfected, so that not only will the Hikari legacy run on, but because he himself enjoys those living arts, enjoys watching them come to life.

"So, Krad had watched them make the Jewel. They didn't know it, but he also knew what they intended to use it for. But, he saw where they went wrong, and for once, did not point it out. Because he knew what would result from that flaw; that it would strengthen him and extend his time to live. He also knew that consequences would be laid on him, but he went through with it."

Satoshi was surprised. Probably because he never knew that the only thing Krad was really serious about (besides killing Dark and Daisuke) was art (and probably power too). "But, what has his cross got to do with that?"

Violet eyes closed shut. "It was his consequence. Although the Jewel gave him more power, it also formed that cross as a type of seal. He had excess magic, but could not use the full capacity of it. It's practically the only restraint he has, otherwise you would be loooooooooooooong dead from his magic overuse. That cross is the only thing stopping him from practically destroying the whole world, and he cannot remove it. It's stuck with him forever, so, even though he had a lot of magic, he couldn't use it all at once.

"Not only that, but the Jewel also inflicted a bit of damage onto him. The sight in his left eye is barely there. Of course, Krad knew all this, but he was willing to give those things up in order for that power."

"Wow…" Speechless was the word now. "I thought…I thought the cross was just an accessory."

Dark smirked. "That's what everyone thinks."

"But…why did the Jewel put restraints on Krad? It could have easily let him off without the cross."

Dark stood up, hands in pockets. "Because…that artwork was just like all the other Hikari creations."

"What?"

---

I think that's enough for now! xD Whoa, I've got a headache now, typing out that long thing up there. I'm surprised I actually managed to come up with the concept of using the Jewel, and the origin for the cross…0.o Reckon there's not enough Fruits Basket part here? Sorry about that, and also sorry that Krad is quite OOC here. But hey, I like to think that he's not always that fighting, evil, homicidal maniac.

xD He's one of my favourite characters.

And can anyone please tell me what a beta reader is? I _still _have no idea...a few ideas, but not sure. Anyway sorry for all OOC-ness, please R&R!


	17. Suspicions

**A Change of Sorts**

**A/N: **My gosh, it's been over a year now! I've had a PM or two from some of you wondering if I was dead or not o.O I can't believe I put it off for so long! I'm so sorry, but I'd just open up this word document, stare at what I've started and close it without any motivation to write at all! Especially when it seems so utterly BAD to me. Rawr.

Not sure why now, but hey, it's hot, it's summer, and I felt like writing and it flowed. Somewhat. This feels like a filler chapter, at most. Please enjoy!

(I'm sorry it's short, on Word it looks so long and I feel proud, but…)

**Chapter 17: Suspicions**

"_What we need to do is to find the location of this delightfully useful jewel." Dark stated, wording his sentence in such an abnormal way that Satoshi found himself cringing at it. "Once we've passed that obstacle, all that's left is for me to steal it and for you to let that Hikari side of you get to work. Simple?"_

"_It might be, if you hadn't been so regardless of the fact that the Jewel's whereabouts are completely unknown, and its last sighting was at least a few centuries ago." Satoshi drawled._

"_Oh psh." The thief flapped his hand in a dismissing matter. "In case you have forgotten, _I _have a certain Eternal Guide on my side."_

Somehow, someway…the conversation still resulted with Satoshi sitting here at 1 in the morning, hunched over the glowing laptop screen and slowly tapping away. His eyes were rimmed with red, and the occasional stifled yawn could be heard. Somewhere inside his dulled, sleepy mind, Krad sighed and muttered something about incompetent thieves.

Satoshi was a genius, no doubt about that, but everyone has their own limits when it comes to sleep. Apparently, Satoshi wasn't far from reaching his.

Yawning loudly, and not even bothering to stifle it, the young teenager leaned back from his laptop, rubbing his tired blue eyes. His brain was steadily finding it harder and harder to stay alert, despite the caffeine that was frequently being fed to it. It refused to focus on the apparently impossible task of locating the artefact.

"That stupid, idiotic thief, pushing all the work onto me…" He muttered angrily, pushing his glasses higher up his nose. "Towa no Shirube…tch, she won't be any help if Dark refuses to contact her…"

"_Tell me by tomorrow if you've figured out its location!"_

"_What?! I thought you were going to get the Towa no Shirube to help you!"_

"_Well…"_

"_Well what?"_

"_I'm __pretty__ sure that Emiko wouldn't be too happy about assisting the Hikari in any way, even if it were to help another family, and since Towa-chan's always relaying what I tell her back to Emiko then…"_

"…_you idiot."_

.:Really Satoshi-sama:. Krad drawled, materializing next to him as a semi-transparent figure. .:By now, you should know better to listen to Mousy, let alone go along with one of his plans.:.

The only reply that he got was a half-hearted glare from his host. Krad chuckled lightly, a hand cupping his chin in a contemplative way. He leaned over Satoshi to look more closely at the contents on the computer screen, scanning the words briefly. The blue-haired boy flinched slightly as Krad's figure practically passed straight through him. Almost like a ghost, he dryly noted, but unfortunately, much more real than one.

His eyes fell on a shiny (transparent-ish) object that rested on the ground next to his feet, attached to the end of a very long golden ponytail. Although he had seen it countless times before, he studied it with renewed curiosity, pondering on its origin and powers.

"_But…why did the Jewel put restraints on Krad? It could have easily let him off without the cross."_

_Dark stood up, hands in pockets. "Because…that artwork was just like all the other Hikari creations."_

"_What?"_

"_They all have an affinity of sorts with their creators. For the Jewel, granting Krad incredible power with no strings attached was like signing the death sentence for the Hikari, no, the world." Dark snorted. "Great way to say 'thanks for creating me', innit?"_

.:Satoshi-sama, here.:.

Snapped out of his brief flashback, Satoshi followed Krad's gloved finger to the laptop screen. He couldn't make out much of the words (cause being awake at 1am in the morning does that to you, especially if you've been as stressed out as Satoshi has been), but in the midst of the blurs he _did _manage to glance a few such as 'the Jewel of Diversity', 'currently in possession of…', 'records state that it was claimed by the…'

Wait. Rewind.

Rubbing his eyes so frantically that it was out of character, Satoshi leaned closer to the screen, eagerly scanning the words (ignoring the fact that Krad's arm was pretty much going _through _his forehead). Finally! After a long night of searching tiredly, restlessly pouring through countless archives concerning the history of the Hikari artefacts, he was finally rewarded by--

---

_Fast forward 10 seconds._

"…" A barely visible twitch.

.:I never have trusted these annoying creations they call technology.:.

---

_Rewind 10 seconds._

--a brief message popping up directly in his line of vision, cheerfully stating that his laptop had run out of power and would immediately shut down, and reminding him that 'any programs currently running would be closed'.

Ah yes, the wonders of laptops.

---

Meanwhile, very far away from where Satoshi was having a minor crisis with his laptop, a certain author sat at his table, pen in hand. Shigure looked up, tapping the pen thoughtfully on the table, much to the annoyance of Mii.

"Y'know…" he started absent-mindedly. "I don't know why, but I feel _really _glad that I don't use the computer for my manuscripts…"

Mii cried and shoved him back to work.

---

Daisuke blinked.

"Hiwatari-kun? Are you alright?"

Satoshi barely heard him, too busy struggling to stay awake. Despite the fact that, as a major figure in the police force, he should be much used to pulling late nighters for some reason the huge information overload of the past day or so was really taking its toll on him. At the moment, he was sitting, looking quite disgruntled, in a local café in town, a steaming cup of coffee present in his hand.

Daisuke waved away an incoming waitress and took a seat next to the teen. He smiled slightly at Satoshi's half-awake state, yet wondering exactly what was wrong with him.

"You look tired, Hiwatari-kun." --Way to state the obvious.-- "Did something happen last night?"

Satoshi rubbed his eyes blearily underneath his glasses. "It's nothing. Something…mildly distressing just took place."

The redhead tilted his head a bit in confusion. For Satoshi to describe something as mildly distressing was a tad…worrying. "Such as?"

"…my laptop ran out of power at a very crucial moment. I lost the pages I was searching for."

Daisuke couldn't help but laugh. "Hiwatari-kun must have been quite tired if he didn't notice the warning notices of low battery."

"I turn them off. They get irritating after a while."

The redhead just shook his head, smiling slightly. "Well, that shouldn't matter too much. It was an internet page, right?" Nod. "Why don't you check your history? It should all be there."

Satoshi's head promptly hit the table.

---

Kyo lounged on the wall surrounding the Sohma estate, eyes closed in boredom. His sensitive ears could faintly hear the sound of talking from somewhere within the main house, not that he paid attention to what was being said. He had been allowed into the general _area _of the house for a total of five minutes, where they were briefly explained the details of the situation, before he was hastily shoved back to the outskirts of the estate.

One crimson eye opened in thought. So Akito was 'mysteriously struck down with an illness that has caused him to fall into a coma', although what exactly happened was unsure. As far as he knew, Hatori had been the first one to find him, slouched over his favourite window seat, unconscious.

If you asked Kyo (which no one seemed to like doing anyway), the circumstances were just the _slightest bit _suspicious. Replace 'slightest bit' with 'obviously' and you'd be about right. Sickness be damned, if they hadn't found anything wrong with Akito yet then it wasn't likely that the cause was natural. Even Kyo could figure that out.

Although, for the life of him, he could not understand how a coma could be inflicted upon another person without a visible cause. Neither could he understand why someone would want to do that.

A slightly feral grin appeared on his face. He himself though, had _plenty _of reason to wish to give that bastard a good punch in the--

"Oi. We're leaving."

His ears perked at the sound of another voice, and he looked down from his dramatic pose on the wall. His grin quickly transformed into a snarl.

"I'm coming, dammit!"

---

"And…here we go!" Daisuke smiled triumphantly, lifting his fingers from the keyboard. "Is this what you were looking for, Hiwatari-kun?"

Satoshi peered at the laptop screen, his mind registering that it was the same page from the night before. "…yes, this is it. Thank you, Niwa-kun."

Daisuke waved it off. "No worries." His red eyes ran over the lines on the screen briefly. "What's this anyway? Must be pretty important if you were that desperate to get it back, Hiwatari-kun." The redhead scrolled up, eyes flicking towards the title of the page. "The…Jewel of Diversity?"

He turned to look at Satoshi.

"Is that another Hikari artwork?"

"…yes."

"You were looking up a Hikari artwork."

"Yes."

"Why?"

"I felt the need to know its whereabouts." Satoshi shifted his glasses indifferently. "Is something the matter?"

Daisuke didn't meet his eyes for a minute. When they did, there was a slight frown evident, yet there was a too calm look in them. "No, I was just curious." The redhead picked up his bag, the frown smoothing into a neutral expression. "Anyway, I have to be going Hiwatari-kun. I'll see you around!"

With a cheery wave, Daisuke quickly left the café.

Satoshi's gaze lingered at the door for a moment, before turning back to his laptop screen, dismissing the thought.

The dull murmur of people filled Daisuke's ears as he paced down the street, lost in thought. He wasn't focusing on the path in front of him; rather, he was concentrating on a certain thief inside his head.

-Dark.-

--Something the matter, Daisuke? Noticed the way you tensed up a bit back there.--

-Hm, maybe because I've heard of that artwork before?-

--…that's great?--

There was a cold, suspicious edge to Daisuke's voice now. -More specifically, I heard it echoing in your thoughts yesterday when you were heading home from god knows where. I'm guessing it was pretty important if I could hear it THAT clearly when I was half asleep.-

--Well now…--

-What is so important about it that both you and Hiwatari-kun are so desperate to find out about?- Daisuke demanded.

--Don't worry about it for now.--

-Tell me why, Dark! I have a right to know!-

--Well, I can't exactly do that.-- There was a bitter undertone in Dark's words. --You'd just _forget_ it if I tell you.--

---


End file.
